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LIFE  IN  EARLY  BRITAIN 


LIFE  IN  EARLY  BRITAIN 

BEING   AN   ACCOUNT   OF  THE   EARLY 

INHABITANTS    OF   THIS    ISLAND    AND 

THE  MEMORIALS  WHICH  THEY  HAVE 

LEFT  BEHIND  THEM 


BY 


BERTRAM    C.    A.  WINDLE 

D.Sc,  M.D.,  M.A.,  Trinity  College,  Durlin 
F.S.A.  (LoND.  &  Irel.) 

DEAN    OF   THE    MEDICAL   FACULTY   AND    I'ROFESSOR   OF   ANATOMY 
MASON    COLLEGE,    BIRMINGHAM 


fFITH  MAPS,  PLANS,  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS 


New  York:    G.    P.    PUTNAM'S    SONS 
London:  D.   NUTT 

1897 


Printed  by  Ballantyne,  Hanson  6f  Co. 
At  the  Ballantyne  Press 


f  n 


IJ 


TO 
MY    WIFE 


PREFACE 

The  subject-matter  of  the  following  pages  was  arranged 
originally  for  a  course  of  lectures  which  was  delivered 
at  Mason  College,  Birmingham.  The  object  of  that 
course,  as  of  this  book,  was  to  present  a  brief  but  clear 
account  of  the  different  races  which  inhabited  this  country 
in  prehistoric  and  early  historic  times,  and  to  describe 
the  chief  relics  which  each  has  left  behind  it.  It  is  hoped 
that  this  little  book  may  be  serviceable  as  an  introduction 
to  the  study  of  Prehistoric  Archeology,  and  to  the  larger 
works  on  that  subject  by  Sir  John  Evans,  Professor  Boyd 
Dawkins  and  others,  the  names  of  which  will  be  found 
in  the  Appendix.  In  order  to  add  to  its  practical  value 
some  attempt  has  been  made  to  supply  a  list  of  objects, 
arranged  in  counties,  by  which  the  facts  alluded  to  in 
the  body  of  the  work  may  be  more  fully  illustrated.  These 
also  will  be  found  in  an  Appendix. 

For  permission  to  use  certain  of  the  figures  with  which 
the  book  is  illustrated,  the  author  has  to  thank  Sir  John 
Evans,  the  Councils  of  the  Scottish  Society  of  Antiquaries 


Niii  PREFACE 

and  of  the  Archaeological  Society,  Mr.  John  Murray,  Colonel 
Wood-Martin,  Mr.  ^V.  R.  Hughes  and  Messrs.  Kegan  Paul 
The  author  cannot  but  express  his  gratitude  also  to  his 
friend  and  publisher,  Mr.  Alfred  Nutt,  for  the  great  interest 
which  he  has  taken  in  the  book,  and  for  the  many  valuable 
suggestions  which  he  has  made  whilst  it  has  been  passing 
through  the  press. 

Birmingham,  May  i,  1897. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTORY  HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

Introduction — Relics  of  past  races  in  tale,  custom,  and  law — Man 
and  the  Glacial  Period^Palaeolithic  and  Neolithic  Races — The 
Celts  and  the  Bronze  Age — The  Roman  Occupation — The  Saxon 
Invasion — Struggle  between  the  Britons  and  the  Saxons — The 
fall  of  Britain— The  Danes Pp.  1-18 

CHAPTER  II 

PALAEOLITHIC  MAN 

Wild  animals  of  the  period— Flint  implements— Method  of  their 
manufacture— Relics  of  the  River-Drift  Man — The  Cave- 
dweller — Kent's  Hole — Early  Art — Physical  characteristics  of 
the  Cave-Man — His  social  life      ....         Pp.  19-34 

CHAPTER  III 

NEOLITHIC  MAN 

Conditions  of  the  land — Wild  animals — Pit  dwellings — Stone  axes 
and  arrow-heads — Their  folk-lore — Manufactories — Art — Long 
barrows — Dolmens — Significance  and  folk-lore — Objects  buried 
with  the  dead — Trephined  skulls— Druidism— Language — 
Bodily  remains — Social  life Pp.  35-67 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE    BRONZE   PERIOD 

The  Aryan  Race — Goidels  and  Brythons — Early  accounts  of  Britain 
— Lake-dwellings — Crannogs — The  Glastonbury  Lake-village — 
Pile-dwellings — Bronze  Celts — Swords — Personal  ornaments — 
Casting  of  bronze — Pottery— Clothing  .         .         Pp  68-92 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  BRONZE  PERIOD— continued 

Camps — Maiden  Castle  —  Yarnbury  —  Caer  Caradoc — Bridges — 
Stonehenge  — Avebury  — The  Rollright  Stones — Folk-lore — 
Menhirion — Round  Barrows — Celtic  religion — Godiva's  ride- 
Physical  characters — Social  life   ....       Pp.  93-118 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  ROMAN  OCCUPATION  OF  BRITAIN 

Condition  of  the  country — Forests — Wild  animals — Trackways — 
Roman  roads  —  Camps  —  Cities  —  Silchester  —  Uriconium  — 
Corinium Pp.  1 19-136 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  ROMAN  OCCUPATION  OF  BRlTAlti— continued 

The  Roman  city— Cemetery— Pomocrium— Amphitheatre— Gates 
—Forum  and  Basilica— Shops— Baths— Temples— Christian 
Church— Barracks Pp-  i37-i54 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  ROMAN  OCCUPATION  OF  BRIT  Am— continued 

The  Roman  villa — Hypocausts — Tesselated  pavements — Chedworth 
Villa — Mines — Method  of  burial — The  Roman  Wall — Nature  of 
the  Roman  Occupation Pp.  155-170 

CHAPTER  IX 

THE  SAXON  OCCUPATION 

The  Christian  Church  in  Britain — Intermixture  of  Races— Saxon 
Earthworks — Relation  to  subsequent  Norman  Castles — Offa's 
Dyke — Methods  of  burial — Weapons  and  other  objects  found  in 
Graves — Art — Church  architecture       .        .         .      Pp.  171-186 


CHAPTER  X 

TRIBAL  AND  VILLAGE  COMMUNITIES 

The  Tribal  Community — Its  members — The  strangers  living  with 
it— The  Chieftain — His  house — The  village  community — The 
Hall — Evolution  of  the  Manor-house— The  Lord  of  the  Manor — 
How  a  Manor  was  formed — The  inhabitants  of  the  Village — 
The  land  around  it — Its  allotment— The  Manor  of  Westminster 
at  the  Conquest — The  island  of  Heisgeier    .         .      Pp.  187-206 


CHAPTER  XI 

SOME  TRACES  OF  THE  PAST  RACES  OF  BRITAIN 

Traces  in  Language — Physical  characteristics — Names  of  Places. 

Pp.  207-219 


xii  CONTENTS 

APPENDIX  A 

List  of  Places •        Pp    221-227 

APPENDIX  B 

List  of  Books Pp.  228-229 

INDEX 231 


( 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Map  of  Early  Britain,  showing  roads  and  places  of  importance. 

Frontispiece 

1.  River- Drift    Implement  (Evans,   "Ancient  Stone    Imple- 

ments")       .........  21 

2.  Cave  Implement  (do.) 27 

3.  Harpoon  Head  (Scot.  Ant.  Catalogue)         ....  28 

4.  Hunting  of  Horses  (Joly,  "  Man  before  Metals  ")       .        .  29 

5.  The  Mammoth  (do.) 30 

6.  Plan  of  a  Village  Settlement 37 

7.  Neolithic  Celt  (Scot.  Ant.  Catalogue)          ....  39 

8.  A  Celt  in  its  Handle  (Evans,  "Ancient  Stone  Implements")  40 

9.  Perforated  Stone  Hammer  (Scot.  Ant.  Catalogue)       .         .  41 

10.  Flint  Arrow-Heads  (Evans,  "  Ancient  Stone  Implements  ")  43 

11.  The  same  in  Shaft  (do.) 43 

12.  Spindle  Whorl  (Scot.  Ant.  Catalogue)         ....  48 

13.  A  Long  Barrow 49 

14.  An  uncovered  Dolmen  (Joly,  "  Man  before  Metals") .        .  50 

15.  A  Breton  Dolmen        ........  50 

16.  Kits  Coty  House  ("  A  Week's  Tramp  in  Dickensland,"  by  51 

W.  R.  Hughes) 53 

17.  Plan  of  Chambers  in  Uley  Barrow 54 

18.  Concentric  Circles  cut  on  Stone  (Scot.  Ant.  Catalogue)      .  57 

19.  Position  of  Skeletons  in  a  Barrow  (after  a  figure  in  Jewitt's 

"  Grave-Mounds  and  their  Contents ')        •         •         •  59 

20.  Trephined  Skull  (Joly,  "  Man  before  Metals  ")    ...  72 

21.  Restoration  of  aCrannog  (Wood-Martin,  "  Pagan  Ireland") 

22.  Section  of  a  Crannog  (do.)  .......  74 

23.  Plan  of  a  Crannog  (do.) 75 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


24.  Plan  of  a  Crannog  (Wood-Martin,  "  Pagan  Ireland  ") 

25.  Flat  Bronze  Celt  (Evans,  "  Ancient  Bronze  Implements 

26.  Flanged  Bronze  Celt  (do.)  . 

27.  Winged  and  Ringed  Bronze  Celt  (do.) 

28.  Socketed  Bronze  Celt  (do.) 

29.  Bronze  Celt  in  Handle  (do.) 

30.  Bronze  Pins  (do.)        .... 

31.  A  Torque  (do.)     ..... 

32.  Bronze  Caldron  (Scot.  Ant.  Catalogue) 

33.  Stone  Mould  for  Casting  Celts  (do.)    . 

34.  Pottery  of  the  Bronze  Age  (do.) 

35.  General   Plan   of    Stonehenge   (Murraj-'s    Handbook    for 

Wiltshire) 

36.  Conjectural  Restoration  of  Stonehenge  (do.) 

37.  Trilithons  at  Stonehenge  (Barclay,  "  Stonehenge  ") 

38.  Plan  of  Stonehenge  as  it  is  (Murray's  Handbook) 

39.  Trilithons  at  Tripoli  (Barclay,  "Stonehenge"). 

40.  Avebury,  restoration  (Murray's  Handbook  for  Wiltshire) 

41.  Avebury,  Plan  of  District  (do.)   . 

42.  Menhir,  the  Kingstone  ("  Folk-Lore  ") 

43.  Round  Barrows  (after  a  plate  in  Barclay's  "Stonehenge 

44.  Plan  of  Silchester       .... 

45.  Remains  of  Wall  of  Uriconium  . 

46.  A  Roman  Tombstone 

47.  The  Roman  Gateway  at  Lincoln 

48.  Plan  of  Forum  and  Basilica  at  Silchester  (after  the  pi 

Archaologia)  .... 

49-  Roman  Pottery  (Durobrivian) 

50.  Roman  Pottery  from  Upchurch 

51.  Samian   Pottery  (Nos.  46,  47,  49,  50  and  51,  after  figures 

in  Wright's  "Celt,  Roman,  and  Saxon  '  )    . 

52.  An  Oculist's  Stamp  (Scot.  Ant.  Catalogue) 

53.  The  Roman  Bath  at  Bath 

54.  A  Tablet  from   the  neighbourhood  of  the  Roman 

(Scot.  Ant.  Catalogue)         .... 

55.  Roman  Hypocaust  and  Pavement  (Wright  1 

56.  Orpheus  from  a  Tesselated  Pavement 


Wall 


p.\(;e 

75 
81 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


57.  A  Lion  from  the  same  (after  illustrations  in  the  ArcJuiolo 

gical  Journal) 

58.  Plan  of  Chedworth  Villa    . 

59.  Interior  of  a  Roman  Tomb  (Wright 

60.  Plan   of  a   Buhr  (after  a    figure    in    Clarke,    "  Medipcva 

Military  Architecture  ") 

61.  Rectangular  Norman  Keep 

62.  Norman  Shell-keep 

63.  Anglo-Saxon  Interment  (after  a  figure  in  the  Thesaurus 

Craniorum) 

64.  Anglo-Saxon  Fibulae  (Wright)    . 
C5.  Anglo-Saxon  Tumblers  (Wright) 

66.  Anglo-Saxon   Manuscript   (after  a  figure   in  Westwood 

"Anglo-Saxon  Manuscripts"; 

67.  Bradford-on-Avon   Church    (after   an   illustration   in   the 

Archceological  Journal)  . 


159 
161 
J  65 

175 
177 
177 

179 
182 
183 

185 

186 


LIFE  IN  EARLY  BRITAIN 

CHAPTER   I 

INTRODUCTORY   HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

Introduction — Relics  of  past  races  in  tale,  custom,  and 
law — Man  and  the  Glacial  Period — Palaeolithic  and  Neo- 
lithic races — The  Celts  and  the  Bronze  Age — The  Roman 
occupation — The  Saxon  invasion— Struggle  between  the 
Britons  and  the  Saxons — The  Fall  of  Britain — The  Danes. 

England  is  full  of  the  traces  of  her  successive  occupants, 
material  relics  of  earth  and  stone,  and  less  tangible^  but  not 
less  real,  relics  of  custom  and  tradition.  As  an  American 
writer  has  remarked,  the  country  is  in  fact  one  vast  museum, 
on  whose  shelves  lie  objects  illustrative  of  the  history  and 
genius  of  the  races,  out  of  which  has  been  built  up  that 
complex  entity,  the  Englishman  of  to-day. 

It  is  also  true  that  just  as  those  shelves  of  a  museum  which 
relate  to  the  remotest  periods  are  those  in  which  the  least 
interest  is  shown  by  the  casual  visitor  and  which  are  least  in- 
spected by  him,  so  those  objects  in  this  country  which  date 
back  to  the  earliest  periods  are,  with  a  few  obvious  excep- 
tions such  as  Stonehenge,  far  less  popular  than  the  erections 
of  a  later  period.  Perhaps  this  is  scarcely  to  be  greatly 
wondered  at ;  the  stately  cathedral  or  the  ruined  abbey,  the 
historic  castle  or  the  royal  palace,  are  certainly  more  striking 
objects  and  far  more  calculated  to  appeal  to  the  imagination 

A 


2  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

than  the  obscure  earthwork,  overgrown  with  trees  and  nettles, 
or  the  ring  of  weathered  and  half-buried  stones  lying  far  away 
from  the  homes  of  man  on  some  hillside.  Yet  these  relics 
of  early  races  possess  at  least  one  element  of  interest  in 
greater  measure  than  their  later  rivals,  that  of  mystery — 
mystery  as  to  their  builders,  mystery  as  to  their  object,  per- 
haps in  some  instances,  most  of  all  as  to  the  manner  of  their 
erection.  In  the  pages  of  this  book  it  is  intended  to  present 
briefly  an  account  of  the  races  which  successively  occupied 
this  island  in  prehistoric  and  eohistoric  times,  and  to  point 
out  the  remains  which  still  exist  as  evidences  of  their  labours, 
so  that  the  traveller  when  he  meets  with  a  tumulus,  a  dolmen, 
or  a  camp,  may  be  able  to  form  an  idea,  limited  though  it 
may  be  by  the  present  imperfect  state  of  our  knowledge,  as 
to  the  period,  builders  and  significance  of  each.  Topics 
related  to  objects  of  this  kind  belong  to  the  domain  of 
Archaeology  proper,  and  in  dealing  with  them  our  greatest 
difficulty  will  be  to  make  a  selection  from  the  crowd  of  in- 
teresting objects  which  present  themselves  for  description. 

Further,  it  has  already  been  mentioned  that  besides  the 
tangible  and  visible  remains  just  alluded  to,  there  are  many 
other  relics  in  tale,  in  custom,  and  even  in  law,  which  when 
properly  examined  turn  out  to  be  as  much  the  property  of 
bygone  inhabitants  of  this  country  as  the  tombs  and 
temples  which  they  erected.  In  many  cases,  indeed,  such 
tales  are  actually  connected  with  the  cromlechs  and  other 
remains  of  these  prehistoric  races,  visible  and  legendary  relics 
thus  being  closely  linked  one  with  the  other.  Viewed  from 
this  standpoint,  the  child's  game  and  the  legal  custom  assume 
a  remarkable  and  at  first  unsuspected  interest,  and  carry  us 
back  to  an  age  when  they  possessed  a  significance,  perhaps 
religious,  perhaps  ceremonial,  long  since  forgotten  and 
traceable,  if  traceable  at  all,  only  with  great  difticulty.  Let 
us  take  as  an  example  of  a  legal  method  the  manners  in 
which,  under  ancient  tenures,  property  is  still  distributed  in 


INTRODUCTORY    HISTORICAL   SKETCH  3 

cases  of  intestacy.  It  may  go  to  the  eldest  son  by  the  method 
of  primogeniture,  a  plan  which  is  quite  easily  explicable. 
Or  it  may  be  distributed  amongst  all  the  sons,  or  in  default 
of  them,  amongst  all  the  daughters,  by  the  method  of  gavel- 
kind, an  arrangement  which  can  also  be  readily  accounted 
for.  But  in  certain  places,  both  in  England  and  on  the 
Continent,  the  property  descends  to  the  youngest  son,  a 
method  which  is  called  Junior-right  or,  in  this  country. 
Borough  English.  How  is  this  curious  system  to  be 
accounted  for  ?  Is  it  because  the  youngest  was  presumably 
the  least  able  to  take  care  of  himself,  or  because  it  was  sup- 
posed that  by  the  time  of  their  parent's  demise  all  the  other 
sons  had  already  received  their  portions  ?  It  is  very  hard  to 
say.  Possibly  Mr.  Elton  is  right  when  he  surmises  that  the 
custom  may  have  been  derived  from  some  domestic  religion, 
based  on  a  worship  of  ancestors  and  a  consequent  reverence 
for  the  hearth-place,  but  belonging  to  a  people  who  saw  no 
natural  pre-eminence  in  the  eldest.  Possibly  Mr.  Gomme's 
view  is  correct,  and  it  is  due  to  peculiarities  in  the  Germanic 
settlement  of  England,  which  sent  the  elder  born  out  to 
found  new  homesteads  and  naturally  reserved  the  father's 
homestead  for  the  younger  son  [Archc^ologia,  "  On  Archaic 
Conceptions  of  Property,"  vol.  i.  1887).  In  any  case  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  a  custom  which  at  length  has  passed 
into  law,  originated  at  a  period  of  our  history  so  remote  as 
to  be  beyond  the  range  of  written  records. 

Again  it  seems  clear  that  many  of  the  most  popular 
children's  games  were  originally  serious  and  even  solemn 
ceremonies,  which  have  undergone  a  gradual  process  of 
degradation  from  their  first  state,  through  that  of  half-joke, 
half-earnest  to  their  present  lowly  position.  For  instance, 
that  well-known  terror  of  the  Bank  Holiday,  "  Kiss  in  the 
Ring,"  seems  to  be  a  relic  of  the  early  form  of  marriage  by 
choice  or  selection.  One  of  its  variants,  for  there  are 
several  ways  in  which  it  is  played,  presents  this  peculiar 


4  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

feature,  that  the  head  of  the  girl  standing  in  the  centre  of 
the  ring  is  covered  with  a  shawl,  and  a  portion  of  the  game 
turns  upon  her  recognition  by  another  player.  This  in- 
dicates, thinks  Mrs.  Gomme,  that  "  in  this  game  we  have 
preserved  one  of  the  ceremonies  of  a  now  obsolete  marriage- 
custom — namely,  the  disguising  of  the  bride  and  placing 
her  among  her  bridesmaids  and  other  young  girls,  all  having 
veils  or  other  coverings  alike  over  their  heads  and  bodies. 
The  bridegroom  has  to  select  from  among  these  maidens  the 
girl  whom  he  wished  to  marry,  or  whom  he  had  already 
married,  for  until  this  was  done  he  was  not  allowed  to 
depart  with  his  bride.  This  custom  was  continued  in  sport 
as  one  of  the  ceremonies  to  be  gone  through  after  the 
marriage  was  over,  long  after  the  custom  itself  was  discon- 
tinued. This  ordeal  occurs  in  more  than  one  folk-tale,  and 
it  usually  accompanies  the  incident  of  a  youth  having 
travelled  for  adventures,  sometimes  in  quest  of  a  bride.  He 
succeeds  in  finding  the  whereabouts  of  the  coveted  girl,  but 
before  he  is  allowed  by  the  father  to  take  his  bride  away  he 
is  required  to  perform  tasks,  a  final  one  being  the  choosing 
of  the  girl  with  whom  he  is  in  love  from  among  others,  all 
dressed  alike  and  disguised.  Our  bridal  veil  may  probably 
originate  ia  this  custom."  A  further  instance  of  the  com- 
plete alteration  of  character  which  befalls  a  custom  as  it 
passes  through  the  various  stages  of  its  downward  evolution, 
may  be  studied  in  the  well-known  child's  song,  "  Green 
Gravel,"'  which,  little  as  the  children  or  their  mothers  suspect 
it,  is,  according  to  the  authority  just  cited,  evidently  a 
funeral  game.  The  green  gravel  and  green  grass  indicate 
the  locality  of  the  scene ;  "green  "  as  applied  to  the  gravel 
meaning  probably,  freshly  disturbed,  just  as  a  green  grave 
means  a  freshly-made  grave.  'I'he  tenant  of  the  newly-made 
grave  is  the  well-loved  lady  of  a  disconsolate  lover,  and 
probably  the  incidents  of  washing  and  dressing  the  corpse, 
putting  an   inscription  on  the  place  where  it  is  laid,  and 


INTRODUCTORY    HISTORICAL    SKETCH  5 

singing  the  dirge  are  indicated  in  some  of  the  numerous 
variants  of  this  popular  game.  Facts  such  as  those  which 
have  been  just  cited  belong  to  the  realm  of  folk-lore,  the 
youngest  and  perhaps  not  the  least  fruitful  member  of  the 
Archaeological  family.  The  callow  youth  of  this  branch  was 
not  unmarked  by  the  excesses  which  have  characterised  the 
intellectual  minority  of  other  subjects,  but  now  that  it  has 
attained  years  of  discretion,  all  are  beginning  to  recognise 
how  much  valuable  information  it  is  capable  of  affording, 
when  properly  used,  as  to  the  early  customs  and  ideas  of 
this  and  other  countries. 

There  is  one  other  relic  which  some,  indeed  most  of 
these  early  races  have  left,  a  relic  the  most  important,  the 
most  durable,  and  by  far  the  most  elusive,  and  that  is  their 
blood,  which  circulates  in  varying  combinations  in  the 
different  members  of  that  highly  complex  race  which  now 
peoples  the  British  Islands.  Some  attempt  will  be  made 
to  indicate  the  lines  upon  which  the  problem  of  English 
ethnology  has  been  attacked  and  the  results  which  have 
been  attained.  But  it  must  be  admitted  that  we  are  here 
treading  upon  more  difficult  and  treacherous  ground  than  is 
the  case  with  either  of  the  other  two  lines  of  inquiry,  replete 
with  difficulties  though  they  are. 

For  the  sake  of  obtaining  a  clear  idea  of  the  different 
races  whose  remains  are  to  form  the  subject  of  this  book, 
and  particularly  with  the  view  of  securing  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  their  order  and  relation  to  one  another,  it 
will  be  well  to  consider  them  from  a  historical  standpoint 
before  dealing  with  them  upon  the  lines  which  have  been 
just  indicated. 

It  is  by  no  means  certain  at  what  period  man  first  took 
possession  of  this  land,  and  much  discussion  has  raged 
around  the  question  as  to  whether  there  were  human 
occupants  of  this  country  in  the  pre  glacial  period  or  not. 
This  is  not  the  place  in  which  to  deal  exhaustively  with  the 


6  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

subject  of  the  Glacial  period  ;  it  must,  therefore,  sufifice 
to  say  that  during  the  Pleistocene  era  the  northern  and 
north-western  parts  of  Europe  as  far  south  as  the  50th 
parallel  of  north  latitude,  were  covered  with  a  huge  sheet  of 
ice,  from  the  edges  of  which  great  rivers  flowed,  just  as 
rivers  do  now  from  the  glaciers  of  Switzerland.  This  epoch 
was  not  one  of  continuous  intensity,  but  was  interrupted  by 
periods  of  lesser  cold,  during  which  the  ice-sheet  receded 
and  the  mountain  glaciers  intruded  less  upon  the  plains. 
The  relics  of  this  age  are  found  scattered  over  these  islands 
in  the  shape  of  huge  heaps  of  stone  or  moraines,  boulders 
and  erratic  blocks  and  beds  of  clay,  for  the  origin  and  sig- 
nificance of  which  the  reader  must  consult  some  geological 
text-book.  In  certain  places,  and  notably  in  some  caves, 
implements  of  stone  of  a  deep  yellow  colour  have  been 
found,  which,  though  exceedingly  rude  in  manufacture,  have 
yet  undoubtedly  been  shaped  by  the  labour  of  man's  hands. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  whether  pre-  or  post-glacial, 
these  implements  must  be  looked  upon  as  some  of  the 
earliest  objects  made  by  mankind  in  this  country  which 
have  as  yet  been  discovered.  They  have  been  found  over- 
laid by  what  some  authorities  consider  to  be  glacial  drift, 
from  which  it  has  been  urged  that  they  are  pre  glacial  in  age 
and  point  to  the  existence  of  human  beings  in  this  country 
at  that  extremely  remote  period.  Others  have,  however, 
taken  a  different  view  of  the  matter,  which  is  one  to  be  de- 
cided, firstly,  by  the  determination  of  the  exact  date  of  the 
superjacent  deposit,  which  is  a  question  for  geologists ;  and, 
secondly,  by  the  resolution  of  the  doubt  as  to  whether 
implements  and  deposit  occupy  their  original  relation 
to  one  another,  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
discovery  of  the  tools  under  the  clay  is  not  an  absolute 
proof  that  the  former  were  fabricated  before  the  latter 
was  deposited.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  unfair  to  say  that  the 
general  tendency  of  scientific  opinion  at   the  present  day 


INTRODUCTORY    HISTORICAL   SKETCH  7 

is  to  deny  the  existence  of  human  beings  in  the  pre-glacial 
epoch. 

It  may  be  well  thus  early  in  the  consideration  of  the  sub- 
ject to  direct  the  reader's  attention  to  the  invaluable  inform- 
ation which  is  afforded  to  us  by  the  implements,  whether  of 
stone  or  of  other  material,  which  have  been  left  behind  by 
extinct  races.  As  will  be  seen  more  fully  in  later  chapters, 
it  is  on  such  materials  that  we  have  to  rely  very  largely  for 
our  information  as  to  the  habits  and  state  of  civilisation  of 
the  people  of  each  period ;  indeed  it  may  be  said  that 
they  supply  the  only  information  which  we  possess  about 
some  of  them.  The  recognition  of  the  purposes  of  such 
implements  does  not  depend  upon  guess-work,  but  upon  the 
fact  that  savage  races  are  very  much  the  same,  with  the 
necessary  allowances  for  differences  in  climate  and  surround- 
ings, all  the  world  over.  Thus  the  implements  which  are 
prehistoric  with  us,  are  in  actual  use,  or  were  so  until  a 
quite  recent  period,  amongst  less  civilised  races.  By  a  com- 
parative study  of  implements  from  various  parts  of  the 
world  we  are  able  to  form  not  merely  accurate  ideas  of  the 
uses  of  those  which  we  discover  amongst  the  relics  of  the 
bygone  peoples  of  our  own  islands,  but  can  take  a  further 
step,  and  in  some  instances,  form  conclusions,  though  it 
must  be  admitted  with  less  certainty,  as  to  the  customs, 
habits,  and  even  the  religious  ideas  of  their  makers. 

After  the  Glacial  age  had  passed  away,  but  at  a  time  when 
the  British  Isles  were  still  connected  with  the  continent  of 
Europe  by  dry  land,  the  first  undoubted  immigrants  made 
their  appearance  in  the  shape  of  the  so-called  Palteolithic 
race,  a  race  known  almost  exclusively  by  the  weapons  which 
they  manufactured.  Some  of  these  implements  have  been 
discovered  amongst  river-drifts,  and  these  have  been  assigned 
to  an  earlier  period  than  other  and  similar  remains  which 
have  mostly  been  found  in  caves.  Thus  the  Palaeolithic 
race  is  divided  into  the  men  of  the  river-drift  and  the  cave- 


8  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

men.  The  remains  of  the  former  are  found  only  as  far 
north  as  a  line  drawn  from  Bristol  to  the  Wash,  whilst  those 
of  the  latter  have  a  more  extensive  area,  being  met  with  in 
the  northern  parts  of  Yorkshire. 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  say  at  what  period  of  time  these 
wanderers  first  reached  this  country,  for  though  many 
elaborate  researches  have  been  made  in  the  hope  of  assign- 
ing a  definite  date  for  the  advent  of  man  in  England,  the 
question  remains  as  doubtful  as  ever,  and  the  most  widely 
varying  dates  are  still  assigned  by  different  authorities. 

It  is  as  difficult  to  say  what  was  the  fate  of  this  race,  for  it 
seems  impossible  to  decide  whether  it  became  extinct  before 
the  arrival  of  its  successors,  or  whether  it  became  fused  with 
them.  Some  authorities  consider  that  there  is  no  evidence 
of  the  existence  of  the  direct  descendants  of  Palaeolithic  man 
among  the  osteological  remains  of  the  Neolithic  period  or 
of  a  later  date  in  Britain,  and  that  he  seems  to  have  become 
as  extinct  as  many  of  the  animals  which  were  contemporary 
with  him.  This,  however,  may  not  be  the  case  with  respect 
to  other  parts  of  Europe,  whilst  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins 
and  some  American  anthropologists  believe  that  Paleolithic 
man  still  has  representatives  on  the  American  continent. 
Diiring  or  after  his  occupation  of  the  land,  these  islands 
became  detached  from  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  geo- 
graphical conditions  substantially  the  same  as  those  which 
now  exist  became  established.  Thus  the  succeeding  bands 
of  immigrants  which  poured  in  successive  waves  over  the 
country  must  have  made  their  way  to  these  shores  in 
boats. 

The  first  of  these  races  is  called  Neolithic  from  the 
nature  of  their  implements,  and  their  prior  occupation 
of  various  parts  of  the  Continent  has  been  established  by  the 
discovery  of  their  characteristic  weapons  and  instruments  in 
diverse  localities.  The  extent  of  this  country  colonised  by 
the  Neolithic  race  was  much  greater  than  that  occupied  by 


INTRODUCTORY    HISTORICAL    SKETCH  9 

their  predecessors,  for  their  remains  have  been  found  as  far 
north  as  the  Orkneys,  and  it  is  most  probable  that  they 
reached  Ireland,  though  it  appears  doubtful  whether  they 
did  so  until  a  later  period.  The  men  of  this  race  are  variously 
spoken  of  as  Iberians,  Ivernians  or  Euskarians,  and  they  are 
believed  to  have  been  closely  related  ethnologically  with  the 
Basques  of  Spain  and  France,  whose  remarkable  language 
may  be  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  otherwise  wholly, 
or  almost  wholly,  lost  tongue  of  the  Neolithic  inhabitants  of 
Britain.  This  race  certainly  did  not  entirely  disappear 
either  before  or  at  the  advent  of  the  next  wave  of  immigra- 
tion, for  we  possess  abundant  evidence  to  show  that  the 
latter  partly  assimilated  and  partly  drove  further  westward 
the  occupants  of  the  country  whom  they  found  in  possession 
on  their  arrival. 

This,  the  third  race  of  inhabitants,  was  that  of  the  Celts, 
and  there  is  this  important  distinction  between  them  and 
their  predecessors,  that  whilst  the  Celts  belonged  to  the 
Aryan  family,  their  predecessors  were  of  non-Aryan  stock. 

Without  entering  into  the  controversies  as  to  the  place  of 
origin  of  the  Aryan  race,  or  the  exact  relation  between  Aryan 
races  and  races  with  an  Aryan  speech,  it  will  be  sufficient 
here  to  say  that  there  are  in  Europe  seven  Aryan  languages 
— viz.,  Greek,  Latin,  Celtic,  Teutonic,  Slav,  Lettic  and 
Albanian,  and  that  there  are  three  in  Asia — viz..  Indie  (in- 
cluding Sanskrit),  Iranic  (including  Persian),  and  Armenian. 
The  race  with  which  we  are  now  dealing  spoke  a  Celtic 
tongue,  and  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  knowledge  of 
metals  to  this  country,  for  though  they  were  still  ignorant  of 
the  use  of  iron  they  knew  how  to  manufacture  articles 
in  bronze,  for  which  reason  the  earlier  part  of  their 
occupancy  of  the  land  is  known  as  the  Bronze  age.  The 
Celts  appear  to  have  descended  upon  this  country  in  two 
separate  invasions,  separated  from  one  another  by  a  con- 
siderable period  of  time.     The  earlier  of  these  invasions  is 


10  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

known  as  the  Goidelic  or  Gadhelic,  and  the  people  who 
took  part  in  it  are  known  as  Goidels  or  (iaels.  They  are  in 
point  of  speech  the  ancestors  of  the  GaeHc  speaking  people 
of  Ireland,  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  and  the  Isle  of  Man, 
and  their  tongue  existed  in  Wales  and  Devon  as  late  as  the 
sixth  century  or  probably  even  later.  They  appear  to  have 
largely  amalgamated  with  the  Neolithic  inhabitants  whom 
they  found  in  possession. 

The  second  invasion  is  known  as  the  Brythonic,  and  those 
who  were  concerned  in  it  as  Brythons  or  Britons ;  indeed  it 
was  from  them  that  this  country  acquired  the  name  of  Britain.* 
Their  speech  still  lives  in  that  of  the  people  of  Wales  and 
of  Brittany  ;  until  last  century  it  also  existed  as  the  ancient 
Cornish  language,  now  extinct  as  a  living  tongue ;  it  was  at 
a  still  earlier  date  that  the  Brythonic  speech  of  Cumbria  died 
out  of  use.  The  Brythons  appear  to  have  driven  the  com- 
bined Goidelic  and  Neolithic  peoples  to  the  western  side  of 
the  island,  so  that  at  the  time  of  the  Roman  invasion,  the 
latter  were  to  be  found  south-west  of  the  Mendip  Hills  and 
the  River  Stour,  in  the  regions  north  and  south  of  the 
Solway  Firth  and  in  Wales.  In  the  last  mentioned  district, 
they  were  to  be  found  in  the  northern  part,  to  the  west  of  a 
line  drawn  from  Chester  to  the  mouth  of  the  River  Mawd- 
dach,  and  in  the  south,  west  of  the  Severn  and  south  of  the 
Teme.  They  also  occupied  Ireland  and  the  Isle  of  Man. 
The  northern  parts  of  Scotland  were  occupied  by  Ivernians 
and  Picts,  but  the  remainder,  save  for  the  part  above 
mentioned  near  llie  Solway  Firth,  was  peopled,  like  the 
greater  part  of  England,  by  Brythons. 

The  Romans,  under  Julius  Caesar,  had  made  a  descent 
upon  the  island  in  the  year  55  I3.c.,  but  it  was  more  than 
one  hundred  years  later,  in  the  year  45  a  d.,  that  Claudius 
really  undertook  the  reduction   of  the  country.     It   is  no 

*  Prof.  Rhys's  view  is  that  the  name  of  the  Brittones  got  mixed 
up  with  Prittania,  a  Brythonic  form  of  the  Goidehc  Cruithneach. 


INTRODUCTORY    HISTORICAL    SKETCH  ii 

part  of  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  deal  with  the  incidents 
of  the  campaigns  by  which  Britain  became  a  part  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  It  is,  however,  important  to  note  how 
essentially  military  in  its  character  was  the  occupation  of 
the  country.  Earthworks,  great  fortified  cities,  magnificent 
military  roads,  provided  with  change-houses  and  stations, 
not  to  speak  of  that  remarkable  triumph  of  military 
engineering,  the  Roman  wall,  sufficiently  prove  the  truth 
of  this  statement.  At  the  same  time,  the  number  and 
magnificence  of  the  villas  built  for  the  occupation  of  Roman 
officials  show  that  the  settlement  was  regarded  as  permanent 
in  its  nature,  and  that  the  builders  of  these  mansions  con- 
sidered themselves  firmly  rooted  in  the  soil  of  their  adopted 
country.  It  is  also  important  to  remember  that  the  Roman 
occupation  was  not  accompanied  by  the  extermination  of 
the  races  which  they  found  in  occupation  of  the  land  on 
their  arrival.  Battles,  it  is  true,  there  were  between  the 
Celts  and  the  invaders,  but  the  policy  of  the  Romans,  here 
as  in  other  parts  of  their  empire,  obviously  was,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, to  permit  the  natives  to  continue  in  occupation  of  their 
lands  and  properties,  and  in  the  practice  of  their  own 
customs,  whilst  subject  to  and  taxed  by  their  foreign 
masters.  The  comparison  has  been  justly  made  between 
the  Roman  occupation  of  Britain  and  our  own  occupation 
of  India,  for  in  both  cases  the  intention  of  the  conquering 
race  has  been,  whilst  firmly  holding  the  dominions  of  which 
they  had  become  possessed,  to  interfere  as  little  as  possible 
with  the  natives  so  long  as  they  were  content  to  submit 
quietly  to  the  demands  of  their  conquerors.  Thus  there 
was  no  such  displacement  of  population  during  this  period 
as  had  occurred  previously  or  as  took  place  during  the  next 
epoch. 

Early  in  the  fifth  century  the  Roman  legions,  whose 
presence  was  required  nearer  home,  were  finally  withdrawn 
from   England,   and  the   Romanised  Britons  were   left   to 


12  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

defend  their  own  shores  as  best  they  might,  a  task  for  which 
they  were  probably  not  too  well  fitted  by  centuries  of  de- 
pendence on  alien  troops.  They  were  not  long  left  in  quiet 
possession  of  their  country.  It  is  probable  that  Britain  had 
already  been  threatened  by  invaders  from  the  north,  for 
amongst  the  great  Roman  officials  we  find  one  whose  title 
was  Comes  littoris  Saxonici  per  Brittannias,  and  whose 
jurisdiction  extended  along  the  eastern  coast  from  the  ^^'ash 
to  Southampton  Water.  To  this  official,  who  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  ancestor  of  the  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports 
of  our  own  times,  was  entrusted  the  organisation  of  the 
district  most  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  Saxon  pirates. 
It  was  at  three  points  on  this  shore  that  the  land  was  invaded 
by  the  northern  warriors. 

First,  the  Jutes  under  chieftains  to  whom  tradition  has 
assigned  the  names  of  Hengist  and  Horsa,  descended  upon 
the  shores  of  Kent  in  449.  They  were  followed,  in  477,  by  ■ 
the  Saxons  who,  under  Aelle,  invaded  the  south  coast  near 
Chichester.  It  was  not  until  nearly  a  hundred  years  later 
that  the  third  band,  to  whom  this  country  was  to  owe  its 
later  name  of  England,  the  Angles,  descended  under  the 
leadership  of  Ida  upon  the  coasts  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  in 
the  middle  of  the  sixth  century.*  There  was  an  important 
difference  between  this  invasion  and  the  two  which  preceded 
it.  In  the  former  cases  it  was  only  a  detachment  which  had 
come  over,  but  in  the  case  of  the  Angles  it  was  the  entire 

*  The  dates  and  facts  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  arc  those  given 
by  Green  and  other  historians  of  a  similar  period.  It  is  right, 
however,  to  say  that  Thurneysen,  the  latest  investigator,  considers 
that  the  main  Germanic  invasion  took  place  in  the  early  part  of  the 
fifth  century.  Moreover,  it  is  true  that  we  only  hear  of  Ida  in  the 
middle  of  the  sixth  century,  but  that  does  not  prove  that  he  was 
the  first  invader  of  East  Anglia.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  the  Germans  estabHshed  themselves  earlier  in  the 
North  of  England  than  in  the  South,  in  which  case  the  attack  on 
East  Anglia  would  be  a  movement  from  Northumbria,  rather  tlian 
from  the  Continent. 


INTRODUCTORY    HISTORICAL    SKETCH  13 

population  of  the  district,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  what  is 
now  Magdeburg,  still  known  as  Angeln  or  the  Engleland, 
which  removed  en  masse  to  England,  leaving  its  former 
territory  absolutely  denuded  of  inhabitants. 

The  operations  of  these  successive  bands  of  invaders 
were  very  different  from  those  of  the  Romans.  Their  object 
was  not  merely  to  occupy  the  country  but  to  colonise  it,  and 
to  accomplish  this,  they  proceeded  as  far  as  possible  to 
exterminate  the  Celtic  tribes,  who,  after  a  long  and  stub 
born  resistance,  were  forced  to  retreat  before  their  invaders. 
Something  of  what  occurred  we  learn  from  the  writings  of 
the  historian  of  the  Celts,  Gildas,  himself  a  scion  of  that 
race,  who  wrote  some  sixty  or  more  years  after  the  lirst 
Germanic  invasion.  "  The  red  tongue  of  flame  licked  up 
the  whole  land  from  end  to  end,"  he  says,  in  his  somewhat 
high-flown  language,  "till  it  slaked  its  thirst  in  the  western 
ocean."  And  again  of  the  inhabitants  he  says  :  "  Some,  con- 
strained by  famine,  came  and  yielded  themselves  up  to  their 
enemies  as  slaves  for  ever,  while  others,  committing  the 
safety  of  their  lives  to  mountains,  crags,  thick  forests,  and 
rocky  isles,  though  with  trembling  hearts,  remained  in  their 
fatherland."  The  Venerable  Bede,  if,  indeed,  he  is  not 
simply  repeating  Gildas,  speaks  in  much  the  same  terms  : 
"  Some  were  slaughtered ;  some  gave  themselves  up  to 
undergo  slavery ;  some  retreated  beyond  the  sea ;  and  some 
remaining  in  their  own  land  lived  a  miserable  life  in  the 
mountains  and  forests."  But  apart  from  this  written  evidence, 
we  gain  some  idea  of  the  straits  to  which  the  Celtic  fugitives 
were  reduced  from  the  traces  of  their  occupation  which  have 
been  found  in  some  of  the  caves  to  which  they  were  driven 
for  shelter.  Amongst  these,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  is 
that  of  the  King's  Scaur,  near  Settle,  in  Yorkshire,  from  the 
evidence  collected  in  which  by  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins, 
Mr.  Green  has  drawn  the  vivid  picture  which  follows.  "In 
primaeval  ages,"  he  says,  "it  had  been  the  haunt  of  hyienas 


14  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

who  dragged  thither  the  mammoths,  the  reindeer,  the  bisons, 

and  the  bears  that  prowled  in  the  neighbouring  glens.     At 

a  later  period  it  became  a  home  of  savages,  whose  stone 

adzes  and  flint  knives  and  bone  harpoons  are  still  embedded 

in  its  floor.     But  these,  too,  vanished  in  their  turn,  and  this 

haunt  of  primitive  men  lay  lonely  and  undisturbed  until  the 

sword  of  the  English  invaders  drove  the  Roman  provincials 

for  shelter  to  the  moors.     The  hurry  of  their  flight  may  be 

gathered  from  the  relics  their  cave-life  has  left  behind  it. 

There  was  clearly  little  time  to  do  more  than  drive  off  the 

cattle,  the  swine,  the  goats,  whose  bones  lie  scattered  round 

the  hearth-fire  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  where  they  served 

the  wretched  fugitives  for  food.     The  women   must  have 

hastily  buckled  their  brooches  of  parti-coloured  enamel,  the 

peculiar  workmanship  of  Celtic  Britain,  and  snatched  up  a 

few  household  implements  as  they  hurried  away.     The  men, 

no  doubt,  girded  on  as  hastily  the  swords,  whose  dainty 

hilts  of  ivory  and  bronze  still  remain  to  tell  the  tale  of  their 

doom,  and  hiding  in  their  breasts  what  money  the  house 

contained  from  coins  of  Trajan  to  the  wretched  minims  that 

showed  the  Empire's  decay,  mounted  their  horses  to  protect 

their  flight.     At  nightfall  all  were  crouching  beneath  the 

dripping  roof  of  the  cave  or  around  the   fire  which   was 

blazing  at  its  mouth,  and  a  long  suffering  began  in  which 

the  fugitives  lost  year  by  year  the  memory  of  the  civilisation 

from  which  they  came.     A  few  charred  bones  show  how 

hunger  drove  them  to  slay  their  horses  for  food ;  reddened 

pebbles  mark  the  hour  when  the  new  vessels  they  wrought 

were  too  weak  to  stand  the  fire,  and  their  meal  was  cooked 

by  dropping  heated  stones  into  the  pot.     A  time  seems  to 

have  come  when  their  very  spindles  were  exhausted,  and 

the  women  who  wove  in  that  dark  retreat  made  spindle 

whorls  as  they  could  from  the  bones  that  lay  about  them." 

The  cities  which  had  been  erected  in  considerable  numbers 
by  the  Romans  were  sacked,  burnt,  and  then  left  as  ruins 


INTRODUCTORY    HISTORICAL    SKETCH  15 

by  the  Anglo-Saxons,  who  appear  to  have  been  afraid  or  at 
least  unwilling  to  use  them  as  places  of  habitation.  An 
instance  of  this  may  be  found  in  the  case  of  Camboritum, 
the  important  Roman  city  which  corresponded  to  our  modern 
Cambridge,  which  was  sacked  by  the  invaders  and  left  a  ruin 
at  least  until  the  time  of  the  Venerable  Bede  (673-735), 
who  relates  that  the  nuns  of  Ely,  requiring  a  coffin  for  the 
remains  of  their  foundress  St.  Aethelthryth,  searched  amongst 
its  ruins  and  found  there  a  marble  sarcophagus  which  they 
used  for  the  interment  of  the  Saint.  In  later  days  these 
ruined  walls  and  buildings  still  unoccupied  were  used  as 
stone  quarries,  from  which  were  obtained  the  materials  for 
the  construction  of  churches  and  abbeys,  as  in  the  case  of 
Uriconium,  the  carved  stones  of  which  may  be  traced  not 
only  in  the  construction  of  Wroxeter  Church  itself,  but  also 
in  that  of  Atcham,  some  little  distance  off,  and  in  other 
edifices  in  the  district.*  It  was  the  same  with  the  villas  of 
the  Roman  provincials,  which,  magnificent  and  even  luxu- 
rious as  they  often  were,  fell  into  a  state  of  ruin,  and  in  that 
condition  afforded  perforce  at  times,  an  accommodation  so 
inadequate  and  uncomfortable  to  belated  travellers  as  to 
gain  for  them  the  name  of  Cold  Harbours,  a  title  met  with 
in  a  number  of  places  throughout  the  country  where  such 
buildings  formerly  existed. 

In  the  struggles  which  took  place  between  invaders  and 
invaded  the  former  were  not  always  victorious.  Thus  at  the 
battle  of  Mons  Badonicus,  which  may  have  been  Badbury 
Rings  in  Dorsetshire,  a  band  of  West  Saxons,  who  were 
probably  making  their  way  towards  the  city  which  occupied 
the  site  of  the  present  Dorchester,  was  vanquished  by  the 
Brythonic  forces.      This  battle   is    traditionally   associated 

*  "  Caistor  was  a  city  when  Norwicli  was  none, 
And  Norwich  was  built  with  Caistor  stone." 
This  Norfolk  rhyme  alludes  to  the  custom  above  mentioned,  Caistor 
having  been  the  Roman  city  of  Venta  Icenorum. 


i6  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

with  the  name  of  the  national  Brythonic  hero,  King  Arthur, 
various  places  in  the  south  of  England  having  been  iden- 
tified with  the  sites  of  conflicts,  in  which  he  was  concerned, 
by  Dr.  Guest.  Too  much  reliance  cannot,  however,  be 
placed  upon  this  identification,  since  Mr.  Skene  has  asso- 
ciated the  same  events  with  places  in  the  south  of  Scotland. 
Again,  at  the  battle  of  Fethanleah,  now  probably  Faddiley 
in  Cheshire,  in  563,  Ceawlin,  King  of  the  West  Saxons, 
fresh  from  the  destruction  of  Bassa's  churches,  now  Bas- 
church  in  Shropshire,  was  vanquished  by  the  Britons  under 
Brocmael,  Prince  of  Powys,  a  victory  which  for  fifteen  years 
checked  the  progress  of  the  army  of  Wessex. 

But  gradually  the  Britons  were  driven  towards  the  western 
side  of  the  island,  until  that  portion  of  it,  to  which  the  name 
of  Britain  could  be  legitimately  applied,  was  confined  to  a 
continuous  strip,  consisting  in  its  northern  part,  of  the  district 
of  Strathclyde,  which  extended,  roughly  speaking,  from 
Loch  Long  in  Scotland  to  the  River  Dee  ;  in  its  central 
part,  of  the  present  Principality,  under  the  name  of  North 
Wales  ;  and  in  its  southern,  of  West  Wales,  which  included 
the  present  counties  of  Somerset,  Devon  and  Cornwall. 

This  continuous  strip  was  cleft  into  three  parts  by  two 
decisive  battles.  The  first  of  these  took  place  at  Deorham, 
near  Bath,  in  577,  when  Ceawlin,  King  of  the  West  Saxons, 
conquered  the  Britons  under  their  three  kings,  Conmael, 
Kyndylan  and  Farinmael,  and  permanently  separated  North 
from  West  Wales.  The  second  battle  took  place  at  Chester, 
in  607,  when  Aethelfrith,  King  of  the  Northumbrians, 
conquered  Brocmael,  Prince  of  Powys,  divided  Wales  from 
Strathclyde,  and  inially  put  an  end  to  the  kingdom  of 
Britain. 

It  now  only  remains  to  see  what  became  of  tlie  three  dis-. 
membered  fragments.  The  most  northerly  portion,  Strath- 
clyde, was  in  alliance  with  the  little  kingdom  of  Dalriada, 
founded  by  emigrants  from  Ireland,  with  which  is  associated 


INTRODUCTORY    HISTORICAL    SKETCH  17 

the  fame  of  St.  Columba  of  lona.  In  603,  Aedhan,  King  of 
Dalriada,  was  conquered  by  Aethelfrith,  King  of  the 
Northumbrians,  at  Daegstone,  now  Dawstone,  after  which 
event  the  British  inhabitants  of  Strathclyde  became  tributary 
to  their  conquerors.  West  Wales,  or  Dyvnaint,  extended 
from  the  Quantock  Hills  to  the  Land's  End,  and  the  first 
great  inroad  into  it  was  made  by  Ine,  who,  in  710,  conquered 
Geraint,  the  British  king,  pushed  his  army  as  far  as  the 
River  Tone  and  there  founded  the  city  which  we  now  know 
as  Taunton.  It  was  not,  however,  until  815  that  Ecgberht, 
King  of  the  West  Saxons,  made  the  conquest  of  Cornwall. 
It  remains  now  only  to  speak  of  the  district  with  which  we 
now  associate  the  name  of  Wales,  and  here  it  may  be  men- 
tioned that  the  name  of  Welsh  was  given  to  the  Brythons 
by  the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  was  derived  by  them  from  their 
word  wealhas,  meaning  strangers  or  unintelligible  people,  a 
term  met  with  in  other  parts  than  Wales,  such  as  at  Walling- 
ford,  in  Berks,  "  the  ford  of  the  strangers."  North  Wales, 
or  Wales  as  w^e  know  it,  had  a  more  enlarged  boundary 
than  it  now  possesses  until  799,  when  Offa,  King  of  Mercia, 
pushed  his  w\ay  over  the  Severn,  till  then  in  its  upper  part 
the  British  boundary,  drove  the  Prince  of  Powys  from  his 
town  of  Pengwyrn,  and  founded  there  the  town  in  the  scrub, 
Scrobbesbyrig,  our  present  Shrewsbury.  After  this  victory 
he  constructed,  according  to  a  long-standing  tradition,  the 
dyke  which  bears  his  name.  It  is,  however,  possible,  that 
it  may  be  a  work  of  much  earlier  date,  which  he  utilised  as 
a  boundary  line. 

Offa'sdyke,  of  which  extensive  remains  still  exist,  stretched 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Dee  to  that  of  the  A\'ye,  including 
some  portions  of  land  now  belonging  to  England,  and 
stringent  rules  were  laid  down  to  prevent  the  Welsh  from 
entering  the  English  side  of  that  boundary. 

It  is  important  from  an  ethnological  point  of  view  to 
remember  that  whilst  Britons  and  Saxons  were  at  war  with 

B 


i8  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

one  another  in  some  parts  of  the  land,  in  others  they  were 
on  sufficiently  good  terms  to  act  as  allies  against  a  common 
foe.  Thus  in  591,  at  the  battle  of  Wanborough,  on  the 
edge  of  the  Wiltshire  downs  above  the  Vale  of  White 
Horse,  the  Hwiccas  under  Ceolric  joined  with  the  Britons 
to  conquer  Ceawlin,  King  of  the  West  Saxons.  This 
is  the  first  instance  of  an  amalgamation  which  doubtless 
became  more  common  as  the  intensity  of  the  struggle  be- 
tween the  invaders  and  the  invaded  decreased  and  the 
conflicts  between  different  groups  of  the  former  became 
more  common. 

In  866  the  Danes  first  descended  upon  East  Anglia,  and 
upon  the  history  of  their  connection  with  this  country  it  will 
not  be  necessary  to  dwell.  For  the  purposes  of  future  ethno- 
logical observations  it  is  only  necessary  to  remind  the 
reader  that,  after  the  battle  in  which  Alfred  vanquished  the 
Danes  at  Ethandun,  now  Edington,  near  Westbury  in  Wilt- 
shire, the  country  was  divided  between  the  two  races,  the 
Danes  dominating  that  part  of  it  which  lies  north  of  a  line 
from  the  Thames  to  the  mouth  of  the  River  Lea,  and  thence 
by  Bedford  and  the  River  Ouse  to  the  Watling  Street,  which, 
further  west,  formed  the  line  of  demarcation.  Thus  the 
Danes  ruled  over  the  north-east  division  of  the  island,  whilst 
the  English  had  1  ondon  and  the  south-west. 


CHAPTER  II 

PAL/EOLITHIC   MAN 

Wild  animals  of  the  Period — Flint  implements — Method 
of  their  manufacture — Relics  of  the  River-Drift  man — The 
Cave-dueller — Kent's  Hole— Early  Art — Physical  Charac- 
teristics of  the  Cave-man — His  Social  Life. 

The  classification  of  the  early  races  to  whom  the  use  of 
metal  was  unknown,  and  whose  implements  were,  therefore, 
mainly  manufactured  from  stone,  depends  largely  upon  the 
character  and  finish  of  the  weapons  and  tools  which  they 
left  behind.  Those  which  are  assigned  to  the  earlier  age  are 
much  rougher  and  less  finished  than  those  of  the  later,  so 
that  we  may  regard  the  former,  or  Palaeolithic  period,  as 
that  in  which  stones  were  roughly  chipped  to  the  shape 
most  applicable  to  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  intended, 
and  the  latter,  or  Neolithic,  as  that  in  which  the  stones  were 
sometimes  chipped  alone  but  chipped  with  greater  skill  and 
minuteness,  sometimes  ground  down  and  polished  so  as  to 
be  not  merely  more  sightly,  but  also  more  effective  weapons. 
It  is  with  the  former  age  that  we  have  now  to  deal,  and 
the  reader  will  remember  that  it  has  been  subdivided  into 
two  periods,  that  of  the  river-drift  and  that  of  the  cave- 
dwellers.  At  the  time  when  England  was  in  the  possession 
of  Palaeolithic  man  not  merely  was  its  physical  geography 
very  different  from  that  of  the  present  day,  but  the  animals 
which  inhabited  it  were  more  varied  in  kind  and  far  more 
dangerous  in  character.     Amongst  the  fauna  of  that  period, 


20  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

were  the  hippopotamus,  two  kinds  of  elephant,  and  a  hke 
number  of  species  of  rhinoceros,  a  cave  hear  and  a  cave 
lion,  the  hyrena,  bison,  wild  horse  and  reindeer.  Palaeo- 
lithic man  was  thus  provided  with  an  abundance  of  animals 
to  chase  and  to  be  chased  by.  It  must  be  admitted  that  our 
predecessors  of  this  period  were  but  poorly  provided  for 
the  pursuit  of  game  of  such  size  and  ferocity.  Their 
clothing,  if  indeed  they  did  not  for  a  large  part  of  the  year 
go  naked,  must  have  consisted  solely  of  the  dried  skins  of 
such  animals  as  they  were  able  to  kill,  and  their  weapons 
were  confined  to  pointed  stakes  of  wood  and  rude  axes 
chiefly  constructed  of  flint.  The  first  implement  of  this 
kind  which  was  ever  recognised  as  being  something  more 
than  a  natural  product,  was  discovered  near  Gray's  Inn, 
London,  about  the  year  1690,  together  with  the  remains  of 
an  elephant,  with  which  it  found  a  place  in  the  Museum  of 
Sir  HansSloane,  where  it  was  described  as  "A  British  weapon 
found,  with  elephant's  tooth,  opposite  to  Black  Mary's,  near 
Grayes  Inn  Lane,"  but  where  its  real  antiquity  was  of  course 
unsuspected.  When  the  collection  in  question  developed 
into  the  British  Museum  the  specimen  went  with  it,  and 
there,  too,  it  lay  misunderstood,  until  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  after  its  original  discovery.  It  was  then  shown  that  it 
exactly  corresponded  with  the  specimens  which  had  been 
discovered  in  the  river  gravels  of  Amiens  and  Abbeville. 

Such  specimens  having,  after  a  long  controversy  and 
years  of  suspended  opinion,  been  admitted  to  be  the  work 
of  human  hands,  the  true  nature  of  the  Gray's  Inn  flint  was 
no  longer  a  matter  for  doubt.  This  famous  piece  of  flint 
is  roughly  triangular  in  shape,  about  six  inches  in  length 
and  four  wide  at  its  base,  and  has  been  fashioned  by  the 
process  of  chipping  fragments  off  the  original  block  until  it 
assumed  the  shape  which  it  now  possesses.  This  and  other 
implements  of  a  similar  kind  belonging  to  this  period 
do  not  appear  to  have  been  ever  attached  to  any  handle, 


Fig.  I.— River-drift  Stone  Implement  found  at  Reculver.  (Sir  John 
Evans.)  It  is  made  from  a  flint  pebble,  and  the  rounded  end 
is  well  adapted  for  being  held  in  the  hand. 


22  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

but  were  held  by  the  blunter  end.  They  must  have  been 
formidable  weapons  in  a  hand-to-hand  contest,  and  may 
possibly  also  have  been  used  as  missiles  at  a  short  range. 
Other  and  smaller  pieces  of  flint  have  been  found  of  an 
oval  figure  and  worked  so  as  to  possess  a  cutting  edge  all 
round,  others  fashioned  into  what  may  have  been  scrapers 
for  the  preparation  of  skins,  and  again,  others  worked  to  a 
sharp  point  so  as  to  be  capable  of  serving  as  awls.  Special 
manufactories  appear  to  have  existed  for  these  stone  tools 
in  places  capable  of  affording  a  supply  of  the  necessary 
materials.  Here  have  been  found  the  tools  which  were 
used  in  the  fashioning  of  the  implements ;  these  consist  of 
large  blocks  of  flint  which  probably  served  the  purpose 
of  anvils,  and  other  pieces  of  the  same  stone  designed  for 
shaping  the  fragments  out  of  which  the  weapons  were  con- 
structed. The  material  employed  was  almost  invariably 
flint,  and  this  because  that  kind  of  stone  has  a  form  of 
fracture  called  conchoidal,  which  lends  itself  peculiarly  to 
the  process  of  the  formation  of  weapons  by  flaking  and 
chipping.  Sir  John  Evans,  after  describing  and  comparing 
the  methods  adopted  in  the  construction  of  their  implements 
by  races  now  or  recently  in  the  habit  of  making  them 
in  stone,  thinks  that  the  flake-implements  may  well  have 
been  made  in  a  similar  manner  to  that  in  which  gun-flints 
are  prepared,  a  pebble  having  been  employed  instead  of  the 
iron  hammer  of  the  modern  flint-knapper.  "  At  first  sight," 
he  says,  "  it  would  appear  that  the  production  of  flakes  of 
flint,  without  having  a  pointed  metallic  hanmier  for  the 
purpose,  was  a  matter  of  great  ditTiculty.  I  have,  however, 
made  some  experiments  uj)on  the  subject,  and  have  also 
employed  a  Suffolk  flint-knapper  to  do  so,  and  I  find  that 
blows  from  a  rounded  pebble,  judiciously  administered,  are 
capable  of  producing  well-formed  flakes,  such  as  in  shape 
cannot  be  distinguished  from  those  made  with  a  metallic 
hanuiier.     The  main  difficulties  consist  first,  in  making  the 


PAL.^OLITHIC    MAN  23 

blow  fall  exactly  in  the  proper  place  ;  and  secondly,  in 
so  proportioning  its  intensity  that  it  shall  simply  dislodge  a 
flake  without  shattering  it.  The  pebble  employed  as  a 
hammer  need  not  be  attached  to  a  shaft,  but  can  be  used 
without  any  preparation  in  the  hand." 

The  flakes,  being  gradually  detached  from  a  given  lump 
of  flint,  must  necessarily  leave  behind  the  central  block,  from 
which  they  had  been  separated.  Such  blocks  are  formed  in 
the  process  of  manufacturing  gun-flints,  and  are  called  cores. 
Analogous  structures  are  met  with  amongst  the  remains  of 
the  prehistoric  manufactories. 

The  process  of  manufacture  in  the  case  of  the  stone  axes 
was  somewhat  similar,  though  here  it  was  the  central  mass 
from  which  flakes  were  detached  which  was  the  object  of 
the  workman's  attention  and  not  the  pieces  which  he  re- 
moved from  it  in  the  process  of  its  manufacture.  Sir  John 
Evans,  dealing  with  the  method  of  working  this  kind  of 
weapon,  says:  "The  hatchets  seem  to  have  been  rough 
hewn  by  detaching  a  succession  of  flakes,  chips,  or  splinters 
from  a  block  of  flint  by  means  of  a  hammer-stone,  and  these 
rough-hewn  implements  were  subsequently  worked  into  a 
more  finished  form  by  detaching  smaller  splinters,  also 
probably  by  means  of  a  hammer,  previously  to  their  being 
ground  or  polished,  if  they  were  destined  to  be  finished  in 
such  a  manner.  In  most  cases  one  face  of  the  hatchet  was 
first  roughed  out,  and  then  by  a  series  of  blows,  given 
at  proper  intervals  along  the  margin  of  that  face,  the  general 
shape  was  given  and  the  other  face  chipped  out.  This  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  in  most  of  the  roughly  chipped 
hatchets  found  in  Britain  the  depressions  of  the  bulbs 
of  percussion*  of  the  flakes  struck  off  occur  in  a  perfect  state 

*  The  bulb  of  percussion  is  the  name  given  to  a  bulb  or  projection, 
of  a  more  or  less  conical  shape,  at  the  end  of  the  flake  where  the  blow 
was  administered  by  which  it  was  detached.  There  is,  of  course,  a 
corresponding  hollow  in  the  block  from  which  it  was  dislodged. 


24  LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

only  on  one  face,  having  been  partly  removed  on  the  other 
face  by  the  subsequent  chipping. 

"There  are,  however,  exceptions  to  this  rule,  and  more 
especially  among  the  implements  found  in  our  ancient 
river-gravels.  In  some  cases  the  cutting  edge  has  been 
formed  by  the  intersection  of  two  convex  lines  of  fracture 
giving  a  curved  and  sharp  outline,  and  the  body  of  the 
hatchet  has  been  subsequently  made  to  suit  the  edge." 

Amongst  some  savage  races  flaking  is  effected  by  pressure 
and  not  by  percussion,  the  required  portion  being  detached 
with  the  aid  of  an  instrument  of  wood,  bone  or  horn,  which 
is  skilfully  pressed  against  the  block  of  stone  with  the  result 
that  a  thin  flake  or  shaving  flies  off.  Captain  John  Smith, 
whose  name  is  associated  with  that  of  Pocahontas,  the 
original  Belle  Sauvage,  in  speaking  of  the  Indians  of 
Virginia,  appears  to  allude  to  this  method  of  forming  stone- 
flakes  when  he  says  :  "  His  arrow-head  he  quickly  maketh 
with  a  little  bone,  which  he  ever  weareth  in  his  bracept,  of 
a  splint  of  stone  or  glasse  in  the  form  of  a  heart,  and  these 
they  glew'  to  the  end  of  their  arrows." 

Amongst  the  various  kinds  of  weapons  and  implements 
belonging  to  this  period  which  have  been  discovered,  one 
form,  met  with  in  such  quantities  during  the  Neolithic 
era,  is  wanting,  and  this  is  the  arrow-head.  From  this  we 
learn  the  significant  fact,  that  so  low  was  PaLxolithic  man 
in  the  scale  of  culture  as  to  be  unacquainted  with  the  use 
of  the  bow. 

He  does  not  seem  to  have  been  quite  devoid  of  personal 
ornaments,  for  beads  of  a  fossil  shell,  the  orifices  of  which 
have  been  artificially  enlarged  as  if  to  admit  a  cord,  have 
been  met  with  amongst  his  remains.  In  this,  as  in  other 
points,  his  state  of  civilisation  corresponds  with  that  of 
many  of  the  lower  races  of  mankind,  in  most  of  which  some 
effort  at  personal  adornment  is  met  with. 

The    bodily  remains  of  the  man   of  the   ri\Lr-diifl  are 


PALEOLITHIC    MAN  25 

extremely  scanty.  On  the  continent,  where  implements  of 
his  manufacture  have  beeii  discovered  near  Madrid  in  Spain, 
in  Italy,  Greece  and  Germany,  as  well  as  in  Northern  Africa, 
Palestine  and  India,  some  few  portions  of  skeletons  have 
been  found  which  may  be  assigned  to  this  period. 

At  Eguisheim,  near  Colmar,  Schaffhausen,  a  portion  of  a 
cranium  was  found  with  remains  of  the  mammoth  and  other 
animals  of  a  similar  epoch.  At  Clichy,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Seine,  a  skull  and  some  bones  were  discovered  at  a  con- 
siderable depth  from  the  surface,  in  undisturbed  strata,  and 
lying  with  bones  of  the  mammoth,  woolly  rhinoceros,  horse 
and  stag.  The  skulls  which  have  been  found  are  long  and 
narrow  in  shape,  and  have  very  prominent  ridges  over- 
hanging their  orbits.  In  the  case  of  the  limb  bones  of  the 
Clichy  skeleton,  those  of  the  thigh  are  characterised  by 
possessing  a  remarkably  strong  ridge  running  down  the 
posterior  aspect,  whilst  the  tibia  or  shin-bone  is  platycnemic, 
or  flattened.  "  The  few  fragments  which  remain  to  us,"  says 
Professor  Boyd  Dawkins,  "prove  that  at  this  remote  period 
man  was  present  in  Europe  as  man,  and  not  as  an  inter- 
mediate form  connecting  the  human  race  with  the  lower 
animals." 

The  relics  of  the  cave-man  have  been  much  more  exten- 
sively met  with  than  those  of  his  predecessor,  many  caverns 
in  Yorkshire,  Somersetshire  and  elsewhere  having,  on  care- 
ful exploration,  yielded  valuable  results.  One  of  the  best 
known  of  these  is  the  cavern  of  Kent's  Hole,  which  has  been 
so  carefully  explored  by  Mr.  Pengelly.  This  cavern  was  re- 
discovered in  1825,  by  the  Rev.  J.  McEnery,  who  found 
that  it  had  been  entered  by  one  "  Robert  Hedges  of 
Ireland,"  who  had  inscribed  his  name  with  the  date, 
February  20,  1688,  on  a  boss  of  stalagmite.  These  words, 
when  found,  were,  as  they  are  now,  "glazed  over  and 
partly  effaced"  by  the  gradual  deposition  of  carbonate 
of  lime.     It  has  been  attempted  to  use  the  thickness  of  the 


26  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

film  of  stalagmite  which  has  accumulated  since  the  inscrip- 
tion was  made  as  a  measure  of  the  period  of  time  which  has 
elapsed  since  the  earlier  human  relics  were  deposited  in  the 
cave.  Such  a  method,  however,  like  all  others  with  a 
similar  purpose  put  forward  up  to  the  present,  is  open 
to  fallacies  of  various  kinds  and  cannot  be  relied  upon. 

Careful  digging  has  revealed  a  series  of  deposits  over- 
lying one  another  like  strata ;  these  are  as  follows,  com- 
mencing with  that  nearest  to  the  surface  and  working 
downwards. 

(i)  Masses  of  limestone  of  various  sizes  up  to  pieces 
weighing  one  hundred  tons.  These  have  fallen  from 
the  roof  and  are  more  or  less  united  to  one  another 
by  the  deposition  of  carbonate  of  lime. 

(2)  The  Black  Mould,  a  layer  from  three  inches  to  a  foot 

in  thickness,  of  decayed  vegetable  matter  of  a  dark 
colour. 

(3)  A  layer  of  stalagmite  of  a  granular  character,  which 

varies  in  thickness,  being  in  some  places  as  much 
as  five  feet,  but  in  others  no  more  than  three 
inches. 

(4)  The  Black  Band,  met  with  only  in  one  part  of  the 

cave,  about  four  inches  in  thickness  and  composed, 
for  the  most  part,  of  charred  wood. 

(5)  The  Cave  Earth,  a  light  red  loam. 

(6)  A  second  layer  of  stalagmite,  differing  from  the  first  by 

its  crystalline  nature;  this  is  in  some  places  twelve 
feet  thick. 

(7)  The  Breccia,  a  dark  red  deposit  of  a  sandy  nature  and 

free  from  limestone. 
The  lower  strata  contain,  as  might  be  expected,  the 
rudest  implements,  made  exclusive  of  flint  and  chert. 
'*  They  were  much  more  rudely  formed,"  says  Mr.  Pengelly, 
"  more  massive,  less  symmetrical  in  outline,  and  made  not 
by  operating  on  flakes  but  directly  on  nodules,   of  which 


PALAEOLITHIC    MAN  27 

portions  of  the  original  surface  generally  remained,  and 
which  were  probably  derived  from  supra-cretaceous  gravels 
existing  in  great  volume  between  Torquay  and  Newton 
Abbot,  about  four  miles  from  the  cavern.  It  is  obvious, 
however,  that  even  such  tools  could  not  be  made  without 
the  dislodgment  of  flakes  and  chips,  some  of  which  would 


Fig.  2  — Flint  Implement  from  Kent's  Cavern.     (Sir  John  Evans, ) 
Face  and  side  views  and  section. 


be  capable  of  being  utilised,  and  accordingly  a  few  remnants 
of  this  kind  were  met  with  in  the  breccia,  but  they  were  all 
of  a  very  rude,  simple  character,  and  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  improved  by  being  chipped." 

In  the  cave  earth  a  much  more  highly  finished  type  of 
implement  was  found,  some  of  the  flints  being  lance-shaped 


28 


LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 


and  possibly  intended  for  spear-heads,  others  being  oval. 
Scrapers  and  hammer-stones  were  also  found,  and  with  them 
implements  of  bone,  amongst  which  may  particularly  be 
mentioned  a  needle,  awls,  and  harpoons,  constructed  from 
the  antlers  of  reindeer,  one  being  barbed  on  both  sides, 
the  other  only  on  one.  In  the  black  mould  were  found 
more  modern  objects,  such  as  lumps  of  copper,  bronze 
weapons  and  pottery  of  a  Roman  or  pre-Roman  type.  PVom 
the  various  finds  it  is  clear  that  this  cave,  and  the  same  is 
true  of  others  of  a  similar  nature,  was  first  inhabited  by  the 


Fig.  3. — Harpoon  Head  of  Reindeer-horn,  4^  in.  long,  witli  six 
barbs  on  one  side  and  five  on  the  other.  Cave  of  Laugerie 
Basse,  France.    (Scot.  Ant.  Mus.) 


river-drift  men,  and  afterwards,  though  at  a  much  later 
period,  by  those  to  whom  the  name  of  cave-dwellers 
has  been  given.  Finally,  the  British  or  Romano-British 
remains  point  to  its  occupation  at  a  date  much  nearer 
to  our  own. 

A  remarkable  feature  of  the  finds  of  this  period  which 
have  been  made  on  the  continent—  and  the  same  is 
true,  though  in  a  much  less  degree,  of  those  of  our  own 
country — is  the  occurrence  of  incised  figures  of  animals, 
showing  considerable  powers  of  draughtmanship.  Repre- 
sentations of  the  hunting  of  bisons  and  of  horses  have  been 
found  in  the  rock-shelter  of  La  Madelaine,  the  latter  also 
showing  the  figure  of  a  man.  The  human  form,  it  may 
be  remarked,  is  but  rarely  found  represented  in  these 
drawings,   possibly  because  it  may   have  been  considered 


PALEOLITHIC    MAN  29 

unlucky  to  depict  it,  such  a  superstition  being  widely 
prevalent  amongst  primitive  races  throughout  the  world. 

A  considerable  variety  of  animals  has,  however^  been 
depicted  by  the  artist  of  this  period,  thus  a  drawing  of 
a  cave-bear  was  found  upon  a  piece  of  schist  in  the  cave  of 
Massat,  one  of  a  seal  on  the  canine  of  a  bear  at  Duruthy, 
and  of  a  whale  on  an  antler  at  Laugerie  Basse. 

A  still  more  artistically  treated  subject  is  the  picture  of  a 
reindeer,  inscribed  upon  the  horn  of  an  animal  of  that 
species,  found  at    Kesserloch,   in   which   it  is  represented 


-CJ 


Fig.  4. — Figure  of  a  Naked  Man  between  two  Horses  Heads. 
A  fish  (probably  an  eel)  is  represented  behind  him.  From  the 
cave  of  La  Madelaine  in  France.     (Lartet  and  Christy. ) 


as  feeding  by  a  pool  surrounded  by  rushes.  Perhaps 
the  most  celebrated  of  all  is  a  representation  of  the 
mammoth  on  a  piece  of  its  own  tusk,  which  was  dis- 
covered at  La  Madelaine.  This  figure  is  evidently  a  sketch 
from  the  life,  and  portrays  the  long  up-curved  tusks,  the 
mane,  bristles  and  other  appurtenances  of  this  formidable 
creature. 

In  England,  a  portion  of  a  rib,  with  the  figure  of  a  horse 
incised  upon  it,  has  been  found  in  Robin  Hood's  Cave  in 
Derbyshire.  Finally,  a  drawing  upon  the  canine  tooth 
of  a  bear,  found  in  the  cave  of  Duruthy  in  the  Western 
Pyrenees,  of  a  long  gauntlet-like  glove,  shows  that  the 
cave-dweller  fashioned,  with  the  aid   of  his  bone  awl  and 


PALEOLITHIC    MAN 


31 


needle,  the  skins  of  the  animals  which  he  killed  into 
garments  even  of  a  somewhat  complicated  nature. 

It  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  the  nature  of  the  art 
of  the  period,  for  rough  as  the  implements  must  have  been 
with  which  it  was  executed,  the  pictures  show  considerable 
spirit  and  a  real  artistic  capacity.  Very  many  persons  of 
to-day  would  be  pleased,  if  with  all  the  aids  with  which 
art  can  supply  them,  they  could  produce  so  spirited  a  sketch 
as  that  of  the  reindeer  by  the  pool,  or  the  group  of  fighting 
reindeer  represented  in  another  drawing. 

Besides  the  instances  mentioned  above  of  incised  work, 
there  are  many  examples  of  the  carvings  of  Paleolithic  man, 
in  the  shape  of  bone  handles,  representing  animals  of  dif- 
ferent kinds. 

Whether  drawings  or  carvings,  the  art  of  this  period  is 
particularly  worthy  of  notice  because  it  belonged  to  the 
cave-dwellers  alone  and  perished  with  them,  not  being  met 
with  amongst  the  remains  of  later  races.  Professor  Boyd 
Dawkins  has  called  attention  to  the  remarkable  similarity 
between  the  art  of  Palseolithic  man  and  that  of  the  Eskimos, 
and  considers  that  this  is  one  of  several  proofs  of  the  identity 
of  the  two  races.  This  theory,  however,  it  is  right  to  say,  is 
not  accepted  by  all  ethnologists. 

It  is  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the  discoveries  made 
in  continental  caverns  if  we  would  study  the  physical 
characters  of  the  cave-dweller.  Amongst  the  relics  which 
have  been  found,  the  most  celebrated  is  that  of  the 
Neanderthal  skull,  which  was  discovered  in  a  cave  near 
Dusseldorf.  This  remarkable  specimen,  on  the  extreme 
antiquity  of  which  much  doubt  has  recently  been  thrown, 
was,  when  first  studied,  thought  to  belong  to  a  class  not  now 
represented  amongst  living  men.  Further  inquiry,  however, 
has  proved  this  view  to  be  incorrect.  Though  unusual,  this 
type  of  skull  is  not  unknown  amongst  Europeans,  whilst 
a  race  of  Australians  has  received  the  name  of  Neandertha- 


32  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

loid,  from  the  resemblance  of  their  crania  to  that  which 
is  now  under  discussion.  It  is  long  and  narrow  and  its 
vault  is  extremely  low,  but  perhaps  its  most  striking  charac- 
teristic is  the  great  projection  of  the  ridges  above  the  orbits 
and  of  the  glabella  or  space  between  the  eyebrows  and  just 
above  the  root  of  the  nose.  Two  skeletons  assigned  to  this 
period,  the  skulls  of  which  are  also  narrow,  have  been  found 
at  Spey  in  Belgium.  Here  also  the  projection  of  the  supra- 
orbital ridges  and  of  the  glabella  is  very  marked.  The 
ridges  upon  the  bones  of  the  skull  for  the  attachment  of 
muscles  are  strongly  developed  and  the  cranial  vault  is  low 
and  flattened.  The  lower  jaw  shows  no  prominence  of  the 
chin — in  fact,  it  recedes  somewhat  from  the  region  of  the 
teeth.  Dr.  Garson,  from  whose  writings  these  facts  have 
been  condensed,  further  states  that  "  the  stature  of  the 
Neanderthal  skeleton  as  estimated  from  the  length  of  the 
femur  (or  thigh-bone)  is  1604  metres  (5  ft.  3  in.),  and  from 
the  humerus  (or  arm-bone)  2  cm.  less ;  that  of  the  Spey 
skeleton  (there  being  only  one  of  these  in  which  the  long 
bones  could  be  measured),  estimated  from  the  femur  and 
tibia  (or  shin-bone),  is  1504  metres  (4  ft.  11  j  in.)  and  from 
the  femur  alone,  1540  metres  (5  ft.  |  in.).  The  long 
bones  of  both  the  upper  and  lower  limbs  of  the  Neander- 
thal skeleton  are  characterised  by  their  unusual  thickness, 
and  the  great  development  of  the  elevations  and  depres- 
sions for  the  attachment  of  muscles ;  the  articular  ends  of 
the  femur  are  also  of  larger  size  than  usual.  The  femur  of 
the  Spey  skeleton  is  more  arched  forward  than  usual ;  it  is 
somewhat  flattened  from  side  to  side  in  section,  and  its 
articular  ends  are  of  large  size,  especially  the  lower,  in 
which  there  is  enormous  antero-posterior  development  of 
the  articular  surfaces  of  the  condyles.  The  tibia  is 
actually  and  proportionately  very  short,  flattened  laterally 
and  therefore  platycnemic.  The  bones  generally  are  re- 
markable for  their  stoutness,  and  indicate  that  the  muscles 


PAL/EOLITHIC    MAN  33 

attached  to  them  were  large  and  powerful,  especially  those 
of  the  lower  limb. 

"In  regard  to  the  platycnemism  of  the  tibia,  the  Spey 
skeleton  corresponds  to  the  Laugerie  Basse  and  Madelaine 
bones  from  the  Perigord  caves,  and  confirms  in  a  very 
positive  manner  the  evidence  of  their  surroundings  and 
relics,  that  Paljeohthic  people  were  sons  of  the  chase,  as  it 
is  connected  with  the  development  of  the  tibialis  posticus 
muscle,  and  not  a  race  character." 

From  the  various  observations  which  have  been  made  at 
home  and  on  the  Continent,  it  is  possible  for  us  to  form 
some  kind  of  a  picture,  following  on  the  lines  indicated  by 
Dr.  Garson,  of  the  social  life  of  the  cave-dweller.  As 
might  be  inferred  from  his  name,  he  lived,  at  least  during 
the  colder  parts  of  the  year,  in  those  natural  shelters  in 
which  his  remains  have  been  found.  Here  he  lit  his  fire 
and  brought  the  spoils  of  the  chase  to  be  cooked  for  his 
food.  He  was  essentially  a  hunter  and  not  an  agricul- 
turist, like  his  successors  in  the  land,  yet  he  possessed  no 
dog  to  assist  him  in  securing  his  prey.  The  bison,  the 
wild  horse  and  the  reindeer  were  the  main  objects  of  his 
chase,  and  he  pursued  them  with  flint-tipped  spears  and 
with  daggers  made  of  bone  and  possessing  carved  handles. 
He  also  captured  fish  with  barbed  harpoons.  His  clothing 
was  made  from  the  skins  of  the  animals  which  he  killed, 
and  the  different  portions  were  sewn  together  with  cords 
made  of  the  sinews  of  the  reindeer.  For  this  purpose  he 
employed  the  bone  awls  and  needles  which  have  been 
found  in  the  deposits  of  the  period,  and  with  the  same 
implements  and  from  the  same  materials  he  made  the 
long  glove  which  he  wore.  He  manufactured  flint  imple- 
ments for  use  in  the  chase  and  in  war,  as  well  as  for 
domestic  purposes,  and  he  converted  the  bones  of  animals 
into  various  useful  tools.  The  handles  of  many  of  these  he 
decorated  by  carving  them  into  the  form  of  beasts,  and  his 

c 


34  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

taste  for  art  is  also  shown  by  the  figures  which  he  engraved 
upon  bones  and  pieces  of  stone.  He  was  not  indifferent  to 
the  adornment  of  his  person,  but,  Hke  other  savages,  made 
necklaces  of  shells,  teeth  and  pieces  of  ivory  and  bone,  and 
in  all  probability  painted  his  body  of  a  red  colour  with 
mineral  pigments.  He  was  short  in  stature  and  his  beet- 
ling brows  must  have  given  him  a  fierce  and  repellent 
appearance. 


CHAPTER  III 
NEOLITHIC    MAN 

Conditions  of  the  Land — Wild  Animals — Pit  dwellings — 
Stone  axes  and  arrow-heads — Their  Folk-lore— Manu- 
factories —  Art — Long  Barrows  —  Dolmens  - —  Significance 
and  Folk-lore — Objects  buried  with  the  dead — Trephined 
skulls  —  Druidism  —  Language  —  Bodily  remains  —  Social 
life. 

The  conditions  of  the  land  had  been  changed  prior  to  the 
advent  of  the  race  with  which  this  chapter  is  concerned,  so 
as  to  be  approximately  the  same  as  those  which  now  obtain. 
England  had  become  severed  by  the  sea  from  the  Continent 
and  from  Ireland,  but  the  area  which  it  covered  was  some- 
what greater  than  at  present,  since  parts  of  what  were  then 
dry  land  are  now  submerged  beneath  the  waters  of  the  sea. 
The  Isles  of  Wight  and  Anglesey  were  still  part  of  the 
mainland,  the  estuary  of  the  Thames  west  of  a  line  drawn 
north  from  Felixstowe  was  dry  land,  and  the  same  was  true 
of  a  great  part  of  the  Bristol  Channel.  Traces  of  the 
forests  which  covered  this  part  of  the  country  may  still  be 
seen  at  low  tide  near  Minehead  in  Somersetshire  and  in 
other  places.  The  northern  and  w'estern  coast  lines  of 
Wales  extended  for  a  greater  distance  than  they  now  do, 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  bay  of  Cardigan  having  been  formed 
since  this  period  by  the  submergence  of  the  land,  indeed  a 
tradition  to  this  effect  still  remains  amongst  the  Welsh 
peasantry. 


36  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

The  climate  of  the  country  was  probably  much  damper 
than  it  is  now,  on  account  of  the  vast  forests  which  covered 
the  face  of  the  earth  ;  and  on  account  of  the  greater  area  of 
land  it  possessed  more  of  a  continental  range  of  tempera- 
ture, with  greater  cold  in  the  winter  and  greater  heat  in 
the  summer. 

Many  of  the  larger  animals  which  existed  during  the 
epoch  of  Palaeolithic  man  had  now  become  extinct,  but 
others,  some  of  which  are  now  unknown  in  this  country, 
still  occupied  the  forests  and  marshes.  There  were  "  wild 
boars,  horses,  roes  and  stags,  Irish  elks,  true  elks  and  rein- 
deer, and  the  great  wild  ox,  the  urus,  as  well  as  the  Alpine 
hare,  the  common  hare,  and  the  rabbit.  Wolves,  foxes  and 
badgers,  martens  and  wild  cats  were  abundant ;  the  brown 
bear,  and  the  closely  allied  variety  the  grisly  bear,  were  the 
two  most  formidable  competitors  of  man  in  the  chase. 
Otters  pursued  the  salmon  and  trout  in  the  rivers,  beavers 
constructed  their  wonderful  dams,  and  water  rats  haunted 
the  banks  of  the  streams."     (Dawkins.) 

It  will  be  noticed  that  whilst  many  of  the  animals  just 
mentioned  are  no  longer  to  be  found  in  England,  only  one, 
the  Irish  elk,  has  become  absolutely  extinct. 

From  the  insular  character  of  the  country  it  is  obvious 
that  the  Neolithic  peoples  must  have  invaded  it  in  boats, 
bringing  with  them  their  cattle  and  household  stuffs,  and 
starting  from  the  nearest  coast  of  the  Continent,  and  by  a 
similar  means  they  must  have  reached  Ireland  from  England. 
These  boats  were  of  the  kind  known  as  "  dug-outs  " — that  is, 
each  was  composed  of  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  sometimes  as 
much  as  forty  feet  in  length,  hollowed  out  partly  by  the 
action  of  fire,  and  partly  by  the  use  of  the  stone  axe. 
These  boats  must  have  been  propelled  by  some  kind  of 
paddle,  for  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  any  know- 
ledge of  the  use  of  sails  existed  at  that  period. 

Like   their  predecessors,   the  Neolithic   people  in   some 


NEOLITHIC    MAN 


instances  lived  in  caves,  such  as  those  at  Cefn,  near  St.  Asaph, 
in  North  Wales,  but  their  most  characteristic  dwellings  are 
those  known  as  pit  dwellings  or  hut  circles.  A  group  of 
these  exists  near   Fisherton,    in    the  Wylye  Valley  in  Wilt- 


FiG.  6. — Plan  r.f  a  part  of  a  British  Village,  showing  Ditches, 
Ramparts,  and  Cluster  of  Huts. 


shire,  in  which  the  excavations  have  been  carried  down  to  a 
depth  of  from  seven  to  ten  feet  from  the  surface,  passing 
through  the  superficial  gravel  to  reach  the  subjacent  chalk. 
Each  pit  or  group  of  pits  had  a  circular  shaft  by  which  it 
was  entered,  and  below  it  expanded  so  as  to  have  a  diameter 


38  LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

varying  from  five  to  seven  feet,  the  upper  portion  being 
about  three.  The  floor  consisted  of  the  chalk  in  which  the 
excavation  had  been  made,  and  was  often  raised  sHghtly  in 
the  centre.  Each  was  covered  by  a  roof,  which  was  composed 
of  a  kind  of  wattle  and  daub,  that  is  of  interlacing  sticks 
plastered  with  clay,  which  was  partly  hardened  by  the  action 
of  fire.  Groups  of  these  pits  are  found  on  the  tops  or  sides 
of  hills  or  sometimes  in  valleys,  surrounded  by  ramparts  and 
ditches,  and  intersected  also  by  ditches  or  drains,  probably 
rendered  necessary  by  the  damp  nature  of  the  climate.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  such  villages  or  settlements, 
though  characteristic  of  the  Neolithic  race,  are  not  peculiar 
to  the  period  which  bears  that  name,  for  some  of  them  were 
constructed  and  inhabited  at  a  much  later  date.  General 
Pitt-Rivers  has  carefully  explored  such  a  village  of  the 
Romano-British  period  at  Woodcuts  Common,  near  Rush- 
more  in  Dorsetshire.  This  village,  which  is  included  within 
ramparts,  is  divided  into  quarters  by  mounds  and  ditches. 
Within  the  area  are  many  pits,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
which  have  been  found  various  bronze  implements,  Roman 
coins,  pottery  and  skeletons  of  children  and  adults. 

The  remains  of  the  people  of  this  period,  which  have 
been  found  in  their  dwellings  and  tombs,  enable  us  to  form 
a  good  idea  of  their  condition  and  manner  of  life.  The 
most  characteristic  weapon  of  the  period  is  the  stone  axe  or 
celt,  a  much  more  highly  finished  implement  than  that  of 
the  earlier  Stone  age,  and  carefully  shaped  so  as  to  have 
usually  a  wide  cutting  edge  at  one  end,  the  other  being 
more  pointed.  These  celts  were  often  polished  by  friction 
against  another  stone.  "  In  all  cases,"  says  Sir  John  Evans, 
"the  grindstone  on  which  they  were  polished  was  fixed  and 
not  rotatory,  and  in  nearly  all  cases  the  stria;  running  along 
the  stone  hatchets  are  longitudinal,  thus  proving  that  they 
were  rubbed  lengthways  and  not  crossways  on  the  grind- 
ing-bed.     This  is  a  criterion  of  some  service   in   detecting 


NEOLITHIC    MAN 


39 


modern  forgeries.  The  grinding-stones  met  with  in  Den- 
mark and  Scandinavia  are  generally  of  compact  sandstone 
or  quartzite,  and  are  usually  of  two  forms — flat  slabs,  often 


b> 


a'/J 


1\ 


Fig.  7. — Neolithic  Celt  of  finely  polished  greyisli  Flint,  found  in 
Scotland.     (Scot.  Ant.  Mus.)     Side  and  front  view. 


worn  hollow  by  use,  and  polygonal  prisms,  smallest  in  the 
middle,  these  latter  having  frequently  hollow  facets  in  which 
gouges  or  the  more  convex-faced  hatchets  might  be  ground, 
and  sometimes  rounded  ridges  such  as  would  grind  the 
hollow  part  of  gouges.     From  the  coarse  slriation  on  the 


40 


LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 


body  of  most  flint  hatchets,  especially  the  large  ones,  it 
would  appear  that  they  were  not  ground  immediately  on 
such  fine-grained  stones,  but  that  some  coarse  and  hard 
grit  must  have  been  used  to  assist  the  action  of  the  grind- 
stone. M.  Morlot  thought  that  some  mechanical  pressure 
was  also  used  to  aid  in  the  operation,  and  that  the  hatchet 
to  be  ground  was  weighted  in  some  manner,  possibly  by 
means  of  a  lever.     In  grinding  and  polishing  the  hollowed 


Fig.  8. 


-Stone  Celt  in  original  wooden  handle,  found  in  a  peat 
moss  in  Cumberland.     (Sir  John  Evans.) 


faces  of  different  forms  of  stone  axes,  it  would  appear  that 
certain  rubbers  formed  of  stone  were  used  probably  in  con- 
junction with  sand." 

Celts  thus  formed  were  sunk  into  a  wooden  stock,  the 
smaller  end  being  pushed  through  a  hole,  a  wrapping  of  raw 
hide  possibly  making  the  connection  more  secure.  Their 
discovery  in  the  handled  condition  is  naturally  rare,  since 
the  wooden  stocks  have  generally  perished  in  the  course  of 
time  ;  but  one  or  two  have  been  found  in  peat  bogs,  which 


NEOLITHIC    MAN 


4' 


Fig.  9. —  Perforated  Hammer-Stoiie  found  in  Scotland,  (Scot.  Ant. 
Mus. )  The  lower  figure  is  a  section  of  the  hole,  the  narrowing 
of  which  at  the  centre  shows  that  the  boring  was  accomplished 
from  both  sides.     The  figure  on  the  risrht  is  the  side  view. 


42  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

show  the  method  in  which  celt  and  handle  were  united 
together.  These  must  have  been  formidable  weapons, 
whether  against  animals  or  in  warfare,  as  we  may  gather 
from  the  discovery  of  the  skeleton  of  a  man  in  a  cairn  in 
Kirkcudbrightshire,  called  locally  the  tomb  of  King  Aldus 
M'Galdus.  The  arm-bone  of  the  skeleton  had  been  cut 
clean  through  near  the  shoulder  in  some  conflict,  and  in  the 
severed  bone  was  still  sticking  a  fragment  of  the  stone  axe 
with  which  the  injury  had  been  done. 

Other  stone  axes  were  provided  with  a  hole,  bored 
through  them  by  means  of  some  rude  drill,  such  as  is  used 
by  savages,  in  which  hole  the  handle  was  fixed. 

Some  of  these  stone  weapons,  it  seems  more  than  pro- 
bable, were  used  for  throwing  ;  indeed,  the  references  to 
offensive  weapons  of  this  kind  in  Irish  literature  prove  that 
they  were  specially  constructed  for  the  purpose  in  that 
country.  They  were  there  called  the  warrior's  stone,  the 
champion's  flat  stone,  the  semi-flat  stone  of  a  soldier  cham- 
pion, or  by  some  such  title.  In  the  record  of  the  battle  of 
the  Ford  of  Comar,  near  Fore,  in  the  county  of  Westmeath, 
which  is  supposed  to  have  occurred  in  the  century  before 
the  Christian  era,  Lohar's  people  all  came  with  a  champion's 
handstone  stowed  away  in  the  hollow  of  their  shields. 
Fergus  "put  his  hand  into  the  hollow  of  his  shield,  and 
took  out  of  it  the  semi-flat  stone  of  a  soldier  champion,  and 
threw  a  manly  cast  and  struck  the  hag  (a  Druidess)  on  the 
front  of  her  head,  which  it  passed  through,  and  carried  out 
of  its  own  size  of  the  brains  at  her  poll."  Eochaidh,  the 
son  of  Enna  Ceinnselach,  carried  his  champion's  flat  stone 
in  his  girdle. 

Beside  the  axes  with  which  we  have  been  dealing,  the 
Neolithic  peoples  made  numbers  of  arrow-heads  of  stone, 
many  of  which  are  beautifully  shaped  and  polished.  They 
are  sometimes  barbed,  and  sometimes  plain,  tanged  or  tang- 
less,  leaf-shaped  or  triangular,  and  may  be  compared  with 


NEOLITHIC    MAN 


43 


the  stone  arrow-heads  made  by  the  North  American  Indians. 
Indeed   one  of  the  most  remarkable   things  about   these 


Fig.  io. — Flint  .■\rrow-heads,  English.     (Sir  John  Evans.) 


arrow-heads  is  the  extraordinary  similarity  to  one  another 
which  they  present  in  whatever  part  of  the  world  they  may 
be  found,  a  proof  that  the  minds  of  different  races  work 
on   similar  lines,  as  we  can  scarcely 
suppose  that  the  patterns  were  trans- 
mitted from  one  part  of  the  world  to 
another. 

Succeeding  generations  of  people, 
finding  these  remnants  of  a  former 
race  and  ignorant  of  their  real  signi- 
ficance, have  looked  upon  them,  here 
and  elsewhere,  with  a  superstitious 
awe  and  veneration.  Thus  the  stone 
celt  came  to  be  regarded  as  the 
hammer  of  Thor,  the  thunderbolt, 
"  the  all-dreaded  thunderstone  "  of 
Cymbeline.  Indeed  the  opinion  that 
such   axes    fell    from    the    skies    in 

thunderstorms,  which  seems  to  have  existed  from  a  very  early 
period,  is  met  with  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  for  besides 
having  been  prevalent  in  all  parts  of  Europe,  it  is  found  in 


Fig.  II. — Stone  Arrow- 
head.with  original  Shaft, 
found  in  Switzerland. 
(Sir  John  Evans.) 


44  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

Japan,  Burmah,  Assam,  Malaysia,  Western  Africa,  and  else- 
where. Many  virtues  have  also  been  attributed  to  these 
weapons,  the  water  in  which  one  has  been  boiled  having  been 
used,  even  in  recent  times,  as  a  cure  for  rheumatism  in  Corn- 
wall, whilst  the  discovery  of  a  celt  in  Egypt  bearing  Gnostic 
inscriptions,  shows  that  some  mystic  power  was  assigned  to 
it  by  some  early  possessor.  An  ancient  stone-axe  has  been 
known  to  be  hung  round  the  neck  of  each  successive  ram 
which  acted  as  leader  of  the  flock  during  many  years,  in 
order  that  the  influence  of  the  evil  eye  might  be  warded  off 
from  him,  and  through  him  from  the  flock  of  which  he  was 
the  head.  The  Neolithic  arrow-heads  are  as  widely  known 
as  fairy-darts,  or  elf-shots,  and  have  been  used  as  amulets  up 
to  a  recent  date  both  in  these  islands  and  on  the  continent. 
This  practice  must  also  be  of  great  antiquity,  since  a  flint 
arrow-head  has  been  found  attached  to  an  Etruscan  gold 
necklace,  apparently  as  a  kind  of  charm.  Writing  in  1691, 
of  the  Fairies  and  their  ways,  in  his  ~"  Secret  Common- 
wealth," the  Rev.  Robert  Kirk,  a  firm  believer,  by  the  way, 
in  the  tales  which  he  narrated,  gives  us  a  good  idea  as 
to  the  views  which  were  held  at  that  date,  and  indeed  we 
may  say  up  to  a  much  more  recent  period,  as  to  the  nature 
of  these  arrow-heads,  for  it  is  of  them  he  speaks.  "Their 
weapons,"  he  says,  "are  most  what  solid  earthly  Bodies, 
nothing  of  Iron,  but  much  of  Stone,  like  to  yellow  soft  Flint 
Spa,  shaped  like  a  barbed  Arrow-head,  but  flung  like  a  Dairt, 
with  great  Force.  These  Armes  (cut  by  Airt  and  Tools 
it  seems  beyond  humane)  have  something  of  the  Nature  of 
Thunderbolt  subtilty,  and  mortally  wounding  the  vital  Parts 
without  breaking  the  Skin  ;  of  which  Wounds  I  have  observed 
in  Beasts,  and  felt  them  with  my  Hands.  They  are  not  as 
infallil)lc  Bcnjamites,  hitting  at  a  Hair's  breadth;  nor  are 
they  wholly  unvanquishal)le,  at  least  in  Appearance." 

A  letter  of  Dr.  Hickcs  to  Pepys,  dated  London,  June  19, 
I  700,  is  a  further  proof  of  the  prevalence  of  the  idea  at  this 


NEOLITHIC    MAN  45 

time.  "At  the  same  time,  as  I  remember,  he  (Lord 
Tarbut)  entertained  the  Duke  (of  Lauderdale)  with  a  story 
of  Elf  arrows,  which  was  very  surprising  to  me.  They  are 
of  a  triangular  form,  somewhat  like  the  pile  or  beard  of  our 
old  English  arrows  of  war,  almost  as  thin  as  one  of  our  old 
groats,  made  of  flints  or  pebbles,  or  such-like  stones,  and 
these  the  country  people  in  Scotland  believe  that  evil 
spirits  (which  they  call  Elves,  from  the  old  Danish  word 
Alfar,  which  signifies  Daemon^  Genius,  Satyrus)  do  shoot 
into  the  hearts  of  cattle  ;  and,  as  I  remember,  my  Lord 
Tarbut,  or  some  other  Lord,  did  produce  one  of  these  Elf 
arrows,  which  one  of  his  tenants  or  neighbours  took  out 
of  the  heart  of  one  of  his  cattle  that  died  of  a  usual  death. 
I  have  another  strange  story,  but  very  well  attested,  of  an 
Elf  arrow  that  was  shot  at  a  venerable  Irish  Bishop  by  an 
Evil  Spirit,  in  a  terrible  noise  louder  than  thunder,  which 
shaked  the  house  where  the  Bishop  was." 

Besides  the  use  of  these  arrow-heads  as  amulets  against 
the  malign  influence  of  fairies,  they  have  been  employed  in 
other  superstitious  practices.  Every  reader  will  be  familiar 
with  the  fact  that  one  of  the  commonest  devices  of  witch- 
craft was  to  construct  a  wax  or  clay  image  of  the  person 
whom  it  was  desired  to  injure,  and  to  pierce  it  with  pins  or 
other  sharp  instruments.  It  was,  of  course,  hoped  that  the 
injury  to  tlie  image  would  be  followed  by  serious  illness  in 
the  person  which  it  represented.  Now  Mr.  Gomme  tells  us 
that  in  Scotland  the  implement  used  for  wounding  the 
image  was  sometimes  a  stone  arrow-head,  and  that  its  use 
was  accompanied  by  an  incantation.  No  doubt  it  was 
believed  that  the  effect  of  the  injury  would  be  intensified  by 
the  use  of  a  magical  weapon  such  as  the  fairy  dart.  It  is 
probable  that  this  idea  is  a  genuine  relic  of  the  period  when 
the  fabricators  of  these  weapons  lived  side  by  side  with 
other  and  later  races,  who  may  have  regarded  them  with 
that  superstitious  reverence  with  which  the  aborigines  have 


46  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

been  regarded  in  other  countries  by  later  immigrants.  This, 
however,  is  a  question  which  must  be  dealt  with  more  fully 
at  a  later  point. 

Apart,  however,  from  the  arts  of  witchcraft,  we  have 
abundant  evidence  that  flint  flakes  had  their  place  in 
genuine  religious  ceremonies  in  various  parts  of  the  world. 
Thus,  in  the  process  of  the  embalming  of  the  body  in  Egypt, 
after  the  line  of  the  first  incision  had  been  marked  out  in 
the  left  groin  with  ink,  an  assistant,  the  slitter  or  para- 
schistes,  taking  "an  Ethiopic  stone  "  says  Diodorus  Siculus, 
"a  knife,  probably  made  of  flint,"  says  Mr.  Budge,  made 
the  required  opening.  Circumcision  amongst  the  Jews  may 
be  performed  with  a  stone  knife,  and  a  similar  implement 
is  used  by  the  Arabians  in  the  opening  of  the  veins  which 
forms  a  part  of  the  ceremony  of  making  pledges  of  faith. 
The  Romans  preserved  a  sacred  flint  in  the  temple  of 
Jupiter  Feretrius,  with  which  the  Pater  Patratus  slew  the 
victim,  offered  up  to  consecrate  the  solemn  treaties  of  the 
Romans.  "  If  by  public  counsel,"  he  said,  "  or  by  wicked 
fraud,  they  swerve  first ;  in  that  day,  oh  Jove,  smite  thou 
the  Roman  people,  as  I  here  to-day  shall  smite  this  hog ; 
and  smite  them  so  much  more  as  thou  art  abler  and 
stronger."  ^^'ith  these  words  he  struck  the  hog  with 
the  flint  stone. 

In  various  parts  of  the  country,  where  flints  were  plentiful, 
there  existed  regular  manufactories  of  the  weapons  we  have 
been  considering.  One  of  the  most  celebrated  of  these  was 
at  the  place  called  Grimes'  Craves,  near  Brandon  in  Suffolk, 
a  locality  where  the  descendant  trade  of  gun-flint  making 
has  long  been  carried  on.  Here  the  Neolithic  workers 
sank  shafts  in  search  of  flints  and  connected  them  together 
!)y  means  of  galleries  from  three  to  five  feet  in  height.  The 
miners  of  this  period  had  never  thought  of  tlie  simple 
method  of  using  wooden  props  for  the  roofs  of  their 
galleries  and  hence  they  did  not  dare  to  carry  on  operations 


NEOLITHIC   MAN  47 

very  far  from  the  shaft.  Thus  when  they  had  carried  their 
gallery  a  short  way  and  exhausted  all  the  flints  near  at 
hand,  they  sank  a  fresh  shaft  in  a  new  spot  and  recom- 
menced operations.  In  some  of  their  old  workings,  the 
tools  of  the  Neolithic  miners  have  been  discovered,  and 
we  thus  learn  that  they  used  the  antlers  of  deer  as  pickaxes, 
as  well  as  the  polished  stone  celts  described  above.  Chisels 
made  of  bone  and  horn  have  also  been  found,  and  primitive 
lamps  made  of  cups  of  chalk  hollowed  out  to  contain 
grease.  Canon  Greenwell  gives  the  following  account  of 
the  exploration  of  one  of  these  galleries  which  had  obvi- 
ously fallen  in  during  the  interval  between  two  periods  of 
work.  "  It  was  seen,"  he  writes,  "  that  the  flint  had  been 
worked  out  in  three  places  at  the  end,  forming  three  hollows 
extending  beyond  the  chalk  face  of  the  end  of  the  gallery. 
In  front  of  two  of  these  hollows  were  laid  two  picks,  the 
handles  of  each  towards  the  mouth  of  the  gallery,  the  tines 
pointing  towards  each  other,  showing  in  all  probability  that 
they  had  been  used  respectively  by  a  right  and  left  handed 
man.  The  day's  work  over,  the  men  had  laid  dowai  each 
his  tool,  ready  for  the  next  day's  work ;  meanwhile  the  root 
had  fallen  in  and  the  picks  had  never  been  recovered. 

"  I  learnt  from  the  workmen  that  it  would  not  have  been 
safe  to  have  excavated  further  in  that  direction,  the  chalk 
at  that  point  being  broken  up  by  cracks  so  as  to  prevent  the 
roof  from  standing  firm.  It  was  a  most  impressive  sight, 
and  one  never  to  be  forgotten,  to  look,  after  a  lapse  it  may 
be  of  three  thousand  years,  upon  a  piece  of  work  unfinished, 
with  the  tools  of  the  workmen  still  lying  where  they  had 
been  placed  so  many  years  ago.  Between  the  picks  was  the 
skull  of  a  bird,  but  none  of  the  other  bones.  These  two 
picks,  as  was  the  case  with  many  found  elsewhere,  had  upon 
them  an  incrustation  of  chalk,  the  surface  of  which  bore  the 
impression  of  the  workmen's  fingers,  the  print  of  the  skin 
being  most  apparent.     This  had  been  caused  by  the  chalk 


LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 


with    which    the   workmen's   hands    became    coated    being 
transferred  to  the  handle  of  the  pick." 

Other  relics  have  been  found  in  the  pit-dwellings  and 
tombs,  such  as  spindle  whorls,  showing  that  spinning  was 
practised,  chalk  weights  to  stretch  the  warp  and  long  combs 
to  push  the  woof,  which  prove  that  weaving  was  also  one 
of  their  occupations.     They  were  also  acquainted  with  the 

manufacture  of  pottery,  though 
only  by  hand.  Thus  in  their 
industries,  they  attained  to  a 
much  higher  level  than  their 
predecessors,  so  that  it  is  the 
more  remarkable  that  their 
ideas  of  art  were  so  much  less 
advanced.  The  really  graceful 
delineations  of  animal  forms 
which  we  find  associated  with 
the  cave-dwellers  have  no  place 
in  this  period,  where  instead  we 
meet  with  spirals,  concentric 
circles,  rude  geometrical  orna- 
ments, in  fact,  alone  or  almost 
alone.  In  one  instance,  at  Locmariaquer  in  Brittany,  a  figure 
of  a  stone  axe  in  its  wooden  handle  has  been  found  inscribed 
on  the  under  surface  of  the  capstone  of  the  great  dolmen 
known  as  the  Table  des  Marchands.  This  axe  is  repre- 
sented as  decked  with  a  plume,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  its  handle  is  depicted  as  curved  back  beyond  the  socket 
for  the  blade,  a  feature  which  has  been  observed  in  one  of 
the  very  few  shafted  celts  which  have  been  found  in  tliis 
country. 

The  burial-places  of  this  race,  so  full  of  valuable  informa- 
tion from  the  relics  which  they  contain,  must  next  be  con- 
sidered. In  some  cases  the  Neolithic  people  buried  their 
dead   in   caverns,   but   their   most   characteristic   form    of 


^ 


Fig.  12.— Spindle-Whorl. 
(.Scot.  Ant.  Mus.) 


NEOLITHIC    MAN 


49 


interment  was  under  a  long  oval  mound  of  earth  known 
as  a  long  barrow,  which  was  usually  erected  on  the  top  or 
side  of  a  hill  or  eminence  of  ground.  Such  mounds  of 
earth  form  striking  and  unmistakable  objects  in  the  land- 
scape in  the  parts  of  the  country  in  which  they  occur.  The 
interior  of  these  mounds  contained  in  some  cases  only  a 
pile  of  stones  in  the  midst  of  which  the  corpse  was  placed, 
but  in  other  instances  the  internal  structure  was  much  more 
complicated.  In  chambered  barrows  of  this  kind  there  was 
an  entrance  with  passages  and  galleries  all  formed,  as  to 


Fig.  13. — A  Long  Barrow,  with  the  ring  of  standing  stones 
restored. 


their  sides  and  roof,  of  flat  slabs  of  stone.  In  these  galleries 
and  transepts  successive  interments  took  place.  In  many 
instances  the  superjacent  earth  has  been  removed,  for  farm- 
ing or  other  purposes,  with  the  result  that  the  internal 
skeleton  of  stones  has  been  left  exposed.*  In  its  simplest 
form  this  skeleton  consists  of  a  large  flat  stone  or  capstone, 
supported  by  others  standing  on  their  sides  or  ends.  The 
tabular  appearance  of  such  structures  has  led  to  their  re- 
ceiving the  name  of  dolmen,  or  stone  table  (daul,  a  table, 
and  maen,  stone,  Celtic).  Subsequent  generations  of  people, 
ignorant  of  their  real  purpose,  have  called  them  by  the  title 
of  Druidical  altars,  to  which   they   have  no  claim.     Very 

*  It  should  be  mentioned  that,  according  to  some  archaeologists, 
some  of  these  dolmens  have  possibly,  or  even  probably,  always  been 
sub-aerial  and  never  covered  with  a  mound  of  earth. 


50 


LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 


many    of  these    structures    exist   in    various   parts   of    the 
country,  and  a  few  examples  of  some  of  the  more  important 


Fig.  14. — Dolmen. 


Fig.  15. — Breton  Dolmen. 


or  better  known  may  now  be  cited.     Kits  Coty  House,  near 
Aylesford  in  Kent,  is  a  well-known  instance  of  an  English 


NEOLITHIC    MAN 


51 


dolmen  ;  and  others  familiar  to  tourists  arc  those  of  Chun  in 
Cornwall,  the  capstone  of  which  has  been  estimated  to  weigh 
twenty  tons,  and  the  double  dolmen  at  Plas  Newydd  in  the 
Isle  of  Anglesey.  The  great  Lanyon  dolmen  in  Cornwall 
was  uncovered  about  one  hundred  years  ago  by  a  farmer, 


Fig.    16.  —  Kit's    Coty   House.     Dolmen    near   Aylesford,    Kent. 
(From  "  A  Week'sl'iamp  in  Dickensland,"  by  W.  R.  Hughes.) 


who  supposed  it  to  be  a  mere  heap  of  earth  which  he 
thought  might  be  usefully  applied  to  farming  purposes. 
By  degrees,  as  the  earth  was  carted  away,  the  great  stones 
began  to  appear,  and  when  operations  were  completed  and 
all  the  soil  had  been  cleared  away,  the  dolmen,  much  as  it 
now  exists,  was  disclosed,  containing  in  its  interior  a  heap 


52  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

of  broken  urns  and  human  bones.  The  capstone  is  about 
eighteen  and  a  half  feet  long  by  nine  wide,  and  is  computed 
to  weigh  more  than  fifteen  tons.  In  1815  it  was  blown  off 
by  a  storm,  but  it  was  replaced  in  1824,  though  it  was  found 
to  be  impossible  to  restore  one  of  the  upright  stones  to  its 
position,  since  it  had  been  broken  in  the  fall. 

Weyland  Smith's  forge  on  the  downs  near  the  Icknield 
Street,  and  close  to  the  White  Horse  of  Berkshire,  is  another 
instance  of  the  uncovered  stones  of  a  long  barrow.  It  con- 
sists of  a  ruined  chamber,  of  some  remains  of  a  gallery  and 
of  a  second  chamber  to  complete  the  cruciform  arrange- 
ment. All  these  were  at  one  tinie  buried  beneath  the 
earth  and  surrounded  by  a  ring  of  stones.  This  group 
of  stones  owes  the  name  which  it  now  bears  to  Wieland 
(Norse,  Volundr),  the  Smith  of  the  Teutonic  mythology,  and 
must  have  been  known  by  that  title  for  a  long  time,  for  in 
955  we  find  King  Edred  granting  lands  to  the  wide  gap 
"west  of  Welandes  Smithan."  Again,  King  Alfred,  who 
was  born  at  Wantage  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 
the  remains,  says,  in  his  translation  of  Boethius,  '■  Who  now 
knows  the  bones  of  the  wise  Weland,  under  what  barrow 
they  are  concealed  ?  " 

The  legend  which  is  attached  to  this  group  of  stones,  and 
which  has  been  made  use  of  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  in  his 
novel  of  "  Kenilworth  "  is  that  it  was  the  habitation  of  an 
invisible  smith,  and  that  if  a  traveller's  horse  lost  his  shoe 
it  would  be  rei)laced,  if  the  horse  was  brought  to  the  stones 
and  left  there  with  a  piece  of  money. 

The  long  barrow  at  Uley  in  Gloucestershire  was  a  very 
complicated  structure  of  its  kind.  There  was,  as  in  other 
instances,  a  boundary  wall  laid  in  horizontal  courses,  faced 
on  the  outside,  and  carried  up  to  a  height  of  two  or  three  feet. 
This  surrounded  the  mound  itself,  which  "  is  about  120  ft.  in 
length,  85  ft.  in  its  greatest  breadth,  and  about  10  ft.  in 
h'.ight.     It  is  higher  and  broader  at  its  east  end  than  else- 


NEOLITHIC    MAN 


53 


where.  The  entrance  at  the  east  end  is  a  triHthon,  formed 
by  a  large  flat  stone  upwards  of  8  ft.  in  length,  and  4^-  ft.  in 
depth,  and  supported  by  two  upright  stones  which  face  each 
other,  so  as  to  leave  a  space  of  about  2\  ft.  between  the 
lower  edge  of  the  large  stone  and  the  natural  ground. 
Entering  this,  a  gallery  appears,  running  from  east  to  west, 
about  22  ft.  in  length,  4I  ft  in  average  width,  and  5  ft.  in 
height ;  the  sides  formed  of  large  slabs  of  stone  set  edge- 
ways, the  spaces  between  being  filled  in  with  smaller  stones. 
The  roof  is  formed,  as  usual,  of  flat  slabs,  laid  across  and 


Fig.  17. — Plan  of  the  Chambers  in  the  Uley  Barrow. 


resting  on  the  side  slabs.  There  are  two  smaller  chambers 
on  one  side,  and  there  is  evidence  of  two  others  having 
existed  on  the  other  side.  Several  skeletons  were  found  in 
this  fine  tumulus  when  it  was  opened  many  years  ago." 
(Jewitt.) 

Had  this  barrow  been  denuded  of  earth,  the  stones,  many 
of  which  would  necessarily  have  lost  their  original  position, 
would  have  presented  similar,  though  more  extensive, 
remains  to  those  of  Weyland  Smith's  forge.  In  some  cases 
the  stones  forming  the  entrance  and  lining  the  galleries  are 
carved  in  rude  patterns.  Examples  of  this  occur  in  the 
great  barrow  at  New  Grange  in  the   County  Meath,  and  at 


54 


LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 


Cavr  Inis  in  the  Morbihan,  Brittany.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  it  is  on  the  under  surface  of  the  capstone  of  such  a 
dolmen  at  Locniariaquer  that  the  figure  of  a  hafted  axe  is 
incised. 

Again,  in  other  cases,  the  barrow  was  surrounded  by  a 
ring  of  standing  stones.  Such  was  the  case,  according  tc 
Dr.  Thurnam's  restoration,  at  the  long  barrow  of  West 
Kennet  in  Wilts,  350  ft.  in  length.  This  had  a  bounding 
wall  of  rubble  with  large  upright  blocks  interspersed  at 
regular  intervals.     The  observation   of  Aristotle,  to  which 


Fig.  18. — Sione  with  incised  concentric  circles,  found  at  Eday, 
Orkney.  (Scot.  Ant.  Mus.)  To  illustrate  the  type  of  orna- 
ment alluded  to  on  p.  48. 

Dr.  Thurnam  calls  att(;ntion,  that  the  Iberians  used  to  place 
as  many  obelisks  around  the  tomb  of  the  dead  warrior  as  he 
had  killed  enemies,  perhaps  gives  a  clue  to  the  origin  of  this 
custom.  In  certain  cases  where  the  mound  and  rubble  wall 
have  disappeared,  tiie  standing  stones  remain,  and  some  of 
the  so-called  Druidical  circles  have  thus  been  formed. 
Indeed,  Mr.  Arthur  Evans  points  out  that  in  the  most 
primitive  examples  of  such  burial  mounds,  "  it  seems  a 
universal  rule  that  the  stone  circle  surrounds  a  central 
dolmen  or  stone  cist  containing  the  remains  of  the  dead. 
To  take,  for  example,  some  of  the  closest  known  parallels 
to  our  great  British  monument* — the  stone  circles  described 
*■  Stonehenge. 


NEOLITHIC    MAN  55 

by  travellers  in  Arabia  and  its  borderlands  are  distinctly 
associated  with  central  interments.  Mr.  Palmer  in  his  book 
on  '  The  Desert  cf  Exodus  '  states  that  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Sinai  he  saw  huge  stone  circles,  some  of  them 
measuring  100  ft.  in  diameter,  having  in  the  centre  a  cist 
covered  with  a  heap  of  huge  boulders.  In  the  cists  he  found 
skeletons  in  the  same  contracted  position — the  attitude  of 
sleep  amongst  the  '  Courtmantles '  of  primitive  times — as 
is  Seen  in  our  own  early  interments."  Again,  he  points  out, 
that  the  early  barrows  of  the  North  are  in  fact  a  copy  of  a 
primitive  kind  of  mound  dwelling,  such  as  is  still  repre- 
sented by  the  Gamme  of  the  Lapp.  "  It  is  a  primitive 
dwelling  of  the  living  preserved  by  religious  usage  as  a 
dwelling  for  the  dead  in  days  when  in  all  probability  the 
living  had  adopted  houses  of  somewhat  improved  construc- 
tion, and  adapted  to  a  less  boreal  climate."  By  studying 
these  primitive  dwellings,  then,  we  can  arrive  at  a  compre- 
hension of  the  meaning  of  the  different  parts  of  the  grave 
mound.  In  the  Lapp  Gamme  near  the  North  Cape  "  there 
are  the  ring-stones  actually  employed  in  propping  up  the 
turf-covered  mound  of  the  dwelling,  and  there  is  the  low  en- 
trance gallery  leading  to  the  chamber  within,  which,  in  fact, 
is  the  living  representative,  and  at  the  same  time  the  remote 
progenitor,  of  the  gallery  of  the  chambered  barrow."  Again, 
the  entrance  to  such  barrows  is  directed  towards  the  east, 
a  fact  which  may  be  explained  by  what  we  know  of  the 
Northern  dwelling-mounds,  which  have  their  doorways 
directed  towards  the  east  also,  in  order  that  the  inhabitants 
may  be  awakened  by  the  first  rays  of  the  sun  in  a  land 
where  during  a  large  part  of  the  year  the  hours  of  daylight 
are  but  few.  "  However  the  afterthoughts  of  religion  may 
have  connected  this  usage  with  the  worship  of  the  sun,  it  is 
in  its  origin  to  be  accounted  for,  like  the  stone  circle  and  the 
gallery  and  avenue,  by  purely  utilitarian  reasons."  After  the 
construction  of  such  mounds  had  long  ceased,  perhaps  after 


56  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

their  signification  has  been  forgotten,  we  find  the  dolmens 
associated  with  superstitious  observances,  and  looked  upon 
with  a  certain  veneration.  In  the  earlier  days  of  Christianity 
in  Europe,  and  especially  in  the  Teutonic  regions,  one  of  the 
great  difficulties  with  which  the  Church  had  to  contend  was 
the  tendency  of  its  converts  to  revert  to  stone  worship,  and 
various  fulniinations  of  local  synods  are  extant  against  this 
practice.  For  instance,  we  find  the  twentieth  canon  of  a 
council  held  at  Nantes,  in  Brittany,  ordering  the  "  stones 
which  are  venerated  in  ruinous  places  and  in  the  forests," 
to  be  dug  up  and  thrown  away  so  that  they  may  be  con- 
cealed from  those  who  were  in  the  habit  of  worshipping 
them.* 

A  striking  instance  is  met  with  in  the  life  of  St.  Boniface, 
the  apostle  of  Friesland,  who,  when  he  commenced  the  con- 
version of  that  country  in  the  eighth  century,  found  that 
one  of  the  megalithic  tombs  in  the  province  of  Drenthe  had 
been  turned  into  an  altar  for  human  sacrifices.  Any  stranger 
who  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  wild  races  of  the  district 
was  first  made  to  creep  through  the  opening  between  the 
upright  stones  and  then  "sent  to  Odin"  on  the  capstone. 
The  influence  of  the  Saint  was  powerful  enough  to  cause  the 
cessation  of  the  sacrifice  itself,  but  the  practice  of  causing  a 
stranger,  especially  if  he  hailed  from  Brabant,  to  creep 
between  the  upright  stones  persisted  until  late  in  the  Middle 
Ages. 

Many  such  mounds  have  been  supposed  to  be  habitations 
of  the  fairies  in  these  islands  and  on  the  Continent,  and  the 
veneration  with  which  they  have  been  regarded  has  lingered 
to  our  own  days,  for  so  late  as  1859  a  farmer  in  the  Isle  of 
Man   offered  a  heifer  up  as  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  so  that 

*  "  Lapides  quos  in  ruinosis  locis  et  sylvestribus  daemonum  ludifi- 
cationibus  decepti  venerantur,  ubi  et  vota  vovent  et  deferunt, 
funditus  effodiantur,  atque  in  tali  loco  projiciantur,  ubi  nunquam  a 
cultoribus  suis  inveniri  possint." 


NEOLITHIC   MAN 


57 


no  harm   miglit   befall  him  from  the  opening  of  a  tumulus 
upon  his  land. 

The  skeletons  which  have  been  found  in  these  tombs 
show  that  the  dead  were  buried  in  a  huddled-up  position, 
perhaps,  Sir  John  Evans  thinks,  because  it  was  the  habit  of 


Fig.  19. — Interments  in  a  Barrow.  The  lower  skeleton  is  that  of 
a  man  who  has  been  buried  in  a  crouched-up  position.  The 
upper  is  a  secondary  interment  of  a  later  age,  such  as  is  often 
met  with  in  barrows. 


the  people  of  the  period  to  sleep  in  that  position,  and  not 
stretched  out  straight. 

As  Mr.  Andrew  Lang  puts  it : 

"  He  buried  his  dead  with  their  toes 
Tucked  up,  an  original  plan. 
Till  their  knees  came  right  under  their  nose, 
'Twas  the  manner  of  Primitive  Man." 

But  in  some  of  these  barrows,  and  particularly  in  the 
south-western  part  of  England,  the  bodies  seem  to  have 
been  deposited  in  a  sitting  posture  with  their  backs  resting 
against  the  walls  of  the  tomb.  In  the  eastern  chamber  of 
the  barrow  at  Charlton  Abbots,  there  were  twelve  skeletons 
which  must  have  been  originally  placed  squatting  on  flat 


58  LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

stones  round  the  walls.  At  West  Kennet,  in  Wilts,  six 
skeletons,  whose  original  position  must  have  been  the  same, 
were  discovered,  and  similar  facts  have  been  noted  at 
Avening  and  Uley  in  Gloucestershire. 

Very  great  interest  attaches  to  the  objects  which  are 
found  in  great  abundance  interred  with  the  dead.  The 
cleft  skulls  of  some  of  the  skeletons  met  with  in  many 
instances  by  Dr.  Thurnam,  led  him  to  believe  that  human 
sacrifices  took  place  at  the  funeral  ceremony,  as  is  the  case 
with  other  savage  races.  The  bones  of  domestic  animals 
found  in  the  same  places  were  also  probably  the  remains 
of  less  cruel  sacrifices.  It  is  very  likely  that  slaves  and 
animals  were  slain  in  order  that  their  spirits  might  accom- 
pany that  of  the  dead  man  in  his  last  journey,  as  the 
warrior's  horse  was  slain  by  the  Scythians  and  by  North 
American  Indians,  so  that  it  might  serve  its  master  in  the 
other  world.  In  some  cases  the  skull  of  a  dog  has  been 
met  with,  as  at  Knock  Maraidhe,  near  Dublin,  the  idea 
probably  being  the  same.  The  Greenland  missionary, 
Cranz,  says  that  it  is  the  custom  of  the  people  of  that 
region  to  place  the  head  of  a  dog  in  the  tomb  of  a  child, 
"  in  order  that  the  soul  of  the  dog,  which  can  always  find 
its  way  home,  may  show  the  helpless  infant  the  way  to  the 
country  of  souls."  Nilsson  quotes  this  statement  as 
illustrative  of  the  fact  that  the  skulls  of  dogs  have  been 
found  in  the  burying-places  of  the  Stone  age  in  Sweden. 
But  beyond  these  relics  of  sacrifices,  weapons,  such  as  celts 
and  arrow-heads,  pottery  and  other  implements,  sometimes 
in  a  perfect  condition  and  sometimes  broken,  and  with 
every  evidence  of  having  been  purposely  broken,  have  also 
been  discovered  in  great  quantities.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  from  what  we  know  of  the  practices  of  savage  races, 
that  these  implements  were  placed  in  the  grave  that  they 
might  be  of  service  to  the  departed  in  the  land  of  souls, 
and  the  custom  testifies  to  the  fact  that  the  people  of  the 


NEOLITHIC    MAN 


59 


Neolithic  period  had  a  belief  in  a  future  existence.  The 
fact  that  some  of  the  implements  had  been  broken  is  an 
additional  proof  of  this,  for  we  know  that  this  is  done  by 
other  races  with  the  idea  that  the  spirit  of  the  broken 
weapon  will  be  utilisable  by  the  spirit  of  its  dead  master. 


Fig.  20.  — Skull  trephined  during  Life  and  after  Death.     From 

"  one   of    the  Dolmens    called   Cibournios    or  Tombs  of  the 

Poulacres.      AB,    Healed   edge  of  the   surgical   trephining ; 

BC,  AD,  edges  whence  pieces  had  been  cut  off  after  death. 

( Prunieres. ) 


A  further  light  is  thrown  upon  this  question  by  the  dis- 
covery in  France  of  skulls  upon  which  the  operation  of 
trepanning,  or  removing  a  portion  of  bone  from  the 
cranium,  had  been  performed.  The  operation  was  per- 
formed at  this  period  of  course  with  a  flint  implement,  and 
sometimes  took  place  in  children  or  young  adults,  some- 


6o  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

times  in  the  dead.  The  object  probably  was  to  open  a  door 
for  the  escape  of  the  demons  who  may  have  been  supposed  to 
have  been  the  cause  of  epilepsy  or  other  nervous  troubles. 
If  a  patient  survived  so  critical  an  operation,  and  there  is 
abundant  evidence  in  the  condition  of  the  bone  that  some- 
times patients  did  survive  for  many  years,  it  is  not  wonderful 
that  he  or  she  should  have  been  looked  upon  as  an  indivi- 
dual particularly  beloved  by  the  gods,  and  that  after  his 
death  pieces  of  his  skull  should  have  been  treasured  as 
precious  amulets.  Such  amulets  have,  in  fact,  been  found 
in  French  dolmens,  \yith  grooves  or  holes  for  the  attach- 
ment of  a  cord,  and  each  preserves  on  one  of  its  borders  a 
part  of  the  cicatrised  edge  of  the  original  opening  as 
evidence  of  its  genuineness.  The  most  valuable  of  these 
amulets,  curiously  enough,  have  been  met  in  the  interior  of 
the  skulls  of  persons  who  had  suffered  posthumous  trepan- 
ning. The  amulets  had  evidently  been  purposely  inserted 
in  the  position  which  they  occupied,  and  the  significance 
of  this  fact  is  thus  explained  by  i\L  Broca,  the  distinguished 
French  anthropologist:  "Were  they  a  symbol,  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  great  portion  of  the  skull  removed  by 
trepanning?  It  is  hardly  likely,  since  any  fragment  of  a 
skull  might  have  been  employed  for  this  purpose  ;  and  the 
precious  amulet  would  not  have  been  so  lightly  sacrificed. 
The  intra-cranial  amulet  meant  much  more  than  that.  It  was 
a  viaticum,  a  talisman  which  the  deceased  carried  away  with 
him  into  another  life  to  bring  him  luck,  and  to  protect  him 
from  the  influence  of  the  evil  spirits  who  had  tormented  his 
childhood.  But,  even  if  we  admit  the  first  hypothesis,  it 
none  the  less  indicates  the  belief  that  a  new  life  awaited  the 
dead ;  for  otherwise  there  would  have  been  no  motive 
whatever  for  the  ceremony  of  restitution.  The  study  of 
prehistoric  trepanning  and  the  attendant  ceremonies  prove, 
therefore,  incontrovertibly,  that  the  men  of  the  Neolithic 
aue  believed   in   a   future   life,  in  which    the   dead   retained 


NEOLITHIC    MAN  6i 

their  individuality.  It  is,  I  think,  the  earhest  epoch  to 
which  we  can  attribute  this  belief." 

Beyond  these  facts  connected  with  the  rehgious  opinions 
of  the  Neolithic  people,  certain  female  figures  of  the  rudest 
art,  decked  with  necklaces,  and  in  one  case  ornamented 
with  the  figure  of  a  stone  axe,  have  been  discovered  carved 
on  the  walls  of  artificial  grottos  of  this  period  in  France  by 
the  Baron  de  Baye.  These  figures,  which  somewhat  re- 
semble the  representations  of  the  goddess  Minerva  on  the 
clay  vases  found  in  ancient  Troy,  have  been  thought  to  be 
the  tutelary  deities  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  grottoes. 

At  a  later  date  their  religion  appears  to  have  been 
Druidism,  of  which,  though  the  name  is  so  familiar,  we 
cannot  be  said  to  know  a  great  deal.  The  first  idea  which 
rises  to  the  mind  when  the  name  of  Druid  is  mentioned  is  that 
of  a  venerable  old  man  in  a  white  robe  cutting  down  mistletoe 
with  a  golden  sickle.  From  the  various  facts  which  we  know 
about  the  Druids,  they  must  really  have  closely  resembled 
the  angekoks  of  the  Eskimo  or  the  medicine-men  of  the 
North  American  Indians.  Strabo  (born  c.  64  B.C.)  described 
those  whom  he  saw  as  walking  in  scarlet  and  gold  brocade 
and  wearing  gold  collars  and  bracelets,  whilst  in  a  mediaeval 
Irish  account  the  chief  Druid  of  Tara,  "  is  shown  to  us  as  a 
leaping  juggler  with  ear-clasps  of  gold  and  a  speckled  cloak 
'he  tosses  swords  and  balls  in  the  air,'  and  like  the  buzzing 
of  bees  on  a  beautiful  day  is  the  motion  of  each  passing' 
the  other."  (Elton.)  They  practised  human  sacrifice  and 
augury  from  the  viscera,  whilst  at  some  seasons  of  the  year 
human  victims  were  "  crucified  or  shot  to  death  with 
arrows ;  elsewhere  they  would  be  stuffed  into  huge  figures 
of  wickerwork,  or  a  heap  of  hay  would  be  laid  out  in  the 
human  shape,  where  men,  cattle,  and  wild  beasts  were 
burned  in  a  general  holocaust."     (Elton.) 

In  Julius  Cesar's  time,  and  later,  they  taught  the  doctrine 
of  the  transmigration  of  souls.    "  One  would  have  laughed," 


62  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

says  Valerius  Maximus,  a  writer  of  the  first  century,  "  at 
these  long-trousered  philosophers,  if  we  had  not  found  their 
doctrines  under  the  cloak  of  Pythagoras." 

The  Romans  seem  to  have  had  a  certain  respect  for  the 
Druids  of  the  later  period  when  they  occupied  the  country, 
for  Lucan,  addressing  the  Romano-Britons,  says  :  "  Ve  too, 
ye  bards,  who  by  your  praises  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the 
fallen  brave,  without  hindrance  poured  forth  your  strains. 
And  ye,  ye  Druids,  now  that  the  sword  was  removed,  began 
once  more  your  barbaric  rites  and  weird  solemnities.  To  you 
only  is  given  knowledge  or  ignorance  (whichever  it  be)  of  the 
gods  and  the  powers  of  heaven  ;  your  dwelling  is  in  the  lone 
heart  of  the  forest.  From  you  we  learn  that  the  bourne  of 
man's  ghost  is  not  the  senseless  grave,  not  the  pale  realm  of 
the  monarch  below;  in  another  world  his  spirit  survives  still; 
death,  if  your  lore  is  true,  is  but  the  passage  to  eternal  life." 

The  religious  writings  of  Ireland  afford  many  allusions 
to  the  Druids,  St.  Patrick's  Hymn  containing  a  prayer 
against  "  black  laws  of  the  heathen  and  against  the  spells  of 
women,  smiths  and  Druids,"  whilst  St.  Columba  exclaims, 
in  a  striking  metaphor,  "  The  Son  of  God  is  my  Druid  !  " 
The  magic  of  the  Druids  has  also  made  a  great  impression 
upon  the  folk-stories  of  the  same  country,  mention  of  the 
Druidical  rod  as  an  implement  of  wizardy  and  of  the 
spells  of  the  Druids  being  frequent.  This  has  survived  to 
the  present  day.  Thus  in  the  story  of  "  The  Champion  of 
the  Red  Branch,"  as  one  example  from  many  which  might 
be  quoted,  we  find  such  expressions  as  "  I  lay  on  thee  the 
spells  of  the  art  of  the  Druid,  to  be  feeble  in  strength  as  a 
woman  in  travail,  in  the  place  of  the  camp  or  of  the  battle 
if  you  go  not  out  to  meet  the  three  hundred  cats." 

Of  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis,  mentioned  above, 
it  is  possible  that  some  relics  may  still  linger  in  the  folk-lore 
of  the  country.  In  Yorkshire  the  country  people  call  the 
night-flying  white  moths  "souls,"  and  in  parts  of  Ireland 


NEOLITHIC    MAN  63 

butterflies  are  said  to  be  the  souls  of  your  grandfather.  Mr. 
Gomme  mentions  some  further  examples,  one  relating  to  an 
instance  in  London  where  a  sparrow  was  supposed  to  be  the 
soul  of  a  dead  person.  In  the  county  Mayo  it  is  believed 
that  the  souls  of  virgins,  remarkable  for  the  purity  of  their 
lives,  took  after  their  death  the  forms  of  swans,  perhaps  a 
reminiscence  of  the  Children  of  Lir.  In  Devonshire  there 
is  the  case  of  the  Oxenham  family,  whose  souls  at  death  are 
supposed  to  enter  into  a  bird  :  while  in  Cornwall  it  is 
believed  that  King  Arthur  is  still  living  as  a  raven.  In 
Nidderdale  the  country  people  say  that  the  souls  of 
unbaptized  infants  are  embodied  in  the  nightjar.  The 
most  conspicuous  example  of  souls  assuming  the  form  of 
animals  is  that  of  the  Cornish  fisher-folk,  who  believe  that 
they  can  sometimes  see  their  drowning  comrades  take  that 
shape.  In  the  Hebrides  when  a  man  is  slowly  lingering 
away  in  consumption  the  fairies  are  said  to  be  on  the  watch 
to  steal  his  soul,  that  they  may  therewith  give  life  to  some 
other  body.  In  Lancashire  some  one  received  into  his 
mouth  the  last  breath  of  a  dying  person,  fancying  that  the 
soul  passed  out  with  it  into  his  own  body.  These  examples, 
Mr.  Gomme  thinks,  represent  the  last  link  in  the  genealogy 
of  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis,  as  it  has  survived 
in  folk-lore.  Poetry  may  have  kept  alive  the  idea  of  the 
butterfly  or  moth  embodied  in  the  soul,  but  it  did  not  create 
the  idea,  because  it  is  shown  to  extend  to  other  creatures 
not  so  adaptable  to  poetic  fancy.  When  we  come  upon  the 
Lincolnshire  belief  that  the  soul  of  a  sleeping  comrade  had 
temporarily  taken  up  his  abode  in  a  bee,  we  are  too  near  the 
doctrine  of  savages  for  there  to  be  any  doubt  as  to  where 
the  first  links  of  the  genealogy  start  from.  There  is  scarcely 
any  need  to  draw  attention  to  its  non-Christian  character, 
except  that  folk-lore  has  preserved  in  the  Nidderdale 
example  evidence  of  the  arresting  hand  which  Christianity 
put  upon  these  beliefs. 


64  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

The  tongue  of  the  people  of  the  period  with  which  we  are 
deahng  was  not  long  extinct  in  Ireland  in  the  ninth  century, 
when  in  the  famous  old  Irish  glossary  ascribed  to  Cormac, 
King  and  Bishop  of  Cashel  (slain  915),  it  is  called  the  larn 
or  iron  tongue.  Professor  Rhys  mentions  that  Cormac 
"  records  two  of  the  Ivernian  words  known  to  him, 
namely  fcrn^  anything  good,  and  ond,  a  stone.  But 
these,  together  with  Net,  Corb,  Ri  and  others  in  his  work 
which  may  be  suspected  of  being  Ivernian,  have  hitherto 
thrown  no  light  upon  the  origin  of  the  language  ;  but  should 
it  turn  out  that  those  who  without  hesitation  call  our 
Ivernians  Iberians,  and  bring  them  into  relationship  with 
the  Basque-speaking  people  of  France  and  Spain,  are  right 
in  doing  so,  one  could  not  at  all  wonder  that  Cormac 
considered  the  Ivernian  a  dark  speech.  In  the  North  of 
Ireland  that  idiom  may  have  been  extinct  in  the  time  of 
Adamnan ;  and  Columba  in  the  sixth  century  cannot  have 
known  it,  which,  nevertheless,  does  not  prove  that  there 
were  no  peasants  who  spoke  it  there  in  his  time.  How- 
ever that  may  be,  Adamnan  mentions  a  name  into  which 
and,  a  stone,  possibly  enters ;  to  wit,  that  of  Ondemone, 
a  place  where  the  Irish  Picts  were  beaten  by  the  Ultonians 
in  the  year  563  ;  it  seems  to  have  been  near  the  Bann, 
between  Lough  Neagh  and  the  mouth  of  that  river."  It 
is  possible  that  the  earliest  known  title  of  this  country, 
Albion,  may  belong  to  this  tongue.  This  title  is  found 
in  I  he  story  of  the  labours  of  Hercules,  who,  after  he  had 
secured  the  cows  of  Geryon,  came  from  Spain  to  Liguria, 
where  he  was  attacked  by  two  giants,  whom  he  killed 
before  proceeding  to  Italy.  According  to  the  first-ccntury 
geographer,  Pomponius  Mela,  these  giants  were  Albiona 
and  Bergyon — i.e.,  Albion  and  Iberion,  or  England  and 
Ireland,  the  position  of  the  two  islands  in  the  sea  being 
symbolised  in  the  story  by  its  making  them  the  sons  of 
Neptune. 


NEOLITHIC    MAN  65 

There  is  no  lack  of  osteological  remains  of  the  Neolithic 
people  from  which  to  form  an  opinion  of  their  physical 
characteristics.  These  remains  occur  with  the  greatest  fre- 
quency in  the  south-west  district  and  particularly  in  Wilts  and 
Ciloucestershire,  occupied  by  the  Dobuni  or  Silures  at  the 
commencement  of  history.  Dr.  (iarson,  who  has  examined 
many  of  their  skeletons,  says  that  their  skulls  were  large 
and  well-formed,  being  long  and  proportionately  narrow  and 
of  an  oval  shape — that  is,  they  were  dolichocephalic.  The 
ridges  over  the  orbits  and  the  central  part  of  the  forehead, 
both  so  prominent  in  the  skulls  of  the  earlier  race,  were 
moderately  or  even  feebly  developed.  Their  foreheads  were 
well  formed,  narrow  and  curved  gracefully  to  the  occiput, 
which  was  full  and  rounded.  There  was  no  tendency  to 
prognathism  or  forward  projection  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
face,  such  as  is  seen  in  negroes.  The  jaws  were  small  and 
fine,  and  the  whole  facial  expression  must  have  been  mild. 
The  age  of  the  persons  to  whom  they  belong  averages, 
according  to  Thurnam,  forty-five  years,  which  looks  as  if  the 
duration  of  life  was  not  very  long  at  that  period.  Their 
stature  was  short,  averaging,  according  to  Dr.  Thurnam, 
5  feet  6h  inches,  though  Dr.  Garson  thinks  that  this 
average  was  too  high.  Their  bones  were  slender,  often  v/ith 
a  well-marked  ridge  on  the  back  of  the  thigh-bone  and  a 
flattened  shin-bone,  which  would  show  that  the  Neolithic 
people  led  an  active  life,  probably  as  hunters.  Tacitus,  in 
speaking  of  the  characters  of  the  inhabitants  of  Britain,  says 
of  the  Silures,  whom  we  may  take  to  represent  the  Neolithic 
folk  :  "  The  high  complexion  of  the  Silures,  their  usually 
curly  hair,  and  the  fact  that  Spain  js  the  opposite  shore  to 
them,  are  evidences  that  Iberians  at  some  earlier  time  crossed 
over  and  occupied  these  parts." 

This  account  of  the  Neolithic  people  may  fitly  be  con- 
cluded by  quoting  the  admirable  picture  which  Professor 
Boyd  Dawkins,  putting  together  facts,  many  of  which  have 

E 


66  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

been  elucidated  by  himself,  has  drawn  of  the  civilisation  of 
the  period  : 

"  If  we  could  in  imagination  take  our  stand  on  the  summit 
of  a  hill  commanding  an  extensive  view,  in  almost  any  part 
of  Great  Britain  or  Ireland  in  the  Neolithic  period,  we 
should  look  upon  a  landscape  somewhat  of  this  kind.  Thin 
lines  of  smoke  rising  from  among  the  trees  of  the  dense 
virgin  forest  at  our  feet  would  mark  the  position  of  the 
Neolithic  homesteads,  and  of  the  neighbouring  stockaded 
camp  which  afforded  refuge  in  time  of  need  ;  while  here 
and  there  a  gleam  of  gold  would  show  the  small  patch  of 
ripening  wheat. 

"  We  enter  a  track  in  the  forest,  and  thread  our  way  to 
one  of  the  clusters  of  homesteads,  passing  herds  of  goats 
and  flocks  of  horned  sheep,  or  disturbing  a  troop  of  horses 
or  small  short-horned  oxen,  or  stumbling  upon  a  swineherd 
tending  the  hogs  in  their  search  after  roots.  We  should 
probably  have  to  defend  ourselves  against  the  attack  of 
some  of  the  large  dogs,  used  as  guardians  of  the  flock  against 
bears,  wolves  and  foxes,  and  for  hunting  the  wild  animals. 
At  last,  on  emerging  into  the  clearing,  we  should  see  a  little 
plot  of  flax  or  small-eared  wheat,  and  near  the  homestead 
the  inhabitants,  some  clad  in  linen  and  others  in  skins,  and 
ornamented  with  necklaces  and  pendants  of  stone,  bone  or 
pottery,  carrying  on  their  daily  occupations.  Some  are 
cutting  wood  with  stone  axes  with  a  wonderfully  sharp  edge, 
fixed  in  wooden  handles,  with  stone  adzes  or  gouges,  or  with 
little  saws,  composed  of  carefully  notched  pieces  of  flint 
about  three  or  four  inches  long,  splitting  it  with  stone  wedges, 
scraping  it  with  flint  flakes.  Some  are  at  work  preparing 
handles  for  the  spears,  shafts  for  the  arrows,  and  wood  for 
the  bows,  or  for  the  broad  paddles  used  for  propelling  the 
canoes.  Others  are  busy  grinding  and  sharpening  the 
various  stone  tools,  scraping  skins  with  implements  ground 
to  a  circular  edge,  or  carving  various  implements  out   of 


NEOLITHIC    MAN  67 

bone  and  antler  with  sharp  splinters  of  flint,  while  the 
women  are  preparing  the  meal  with  pestles  and  mortars  and 
grain  rubbers  and  cooking  it  on  the  fire,  generally  outside 
the  house,  or  spinning  thread  with  spindle  or  distaff,  or 
weaving  it  with  a  rude  loom.  We  might  also  have  seen 
them  at  work  at  the  moulding  of  rude  cups  and  vessels  out 
of  clay  which  had  been  carefully  prepared.  The  Neolithic 
farmers  used  for  food  the  produce  of  their  flocks  and  herds, 
and  they  appear  to  have  eaten  all  their  domestic  animals, 
including  the  horse  and  the  dog  ;  the  latter  animal,  however, 
probably  only  under  the  pressure  of  famine. 

"  They  also  had  abundance  of  game  out  of  the  forest,  but 
it  was  probably  rather  an  occasional  supply,  and  did  not 
furnish  them  with  their  main  subsistence.  The  roe  and  the 
stag,  probably  also  the  elk  and  the  reindeer,  and  in  Ireland, 
the  Irish  elk,  provided  them  with  venison  ;  and  the  dis- 
covery of  the  urus  in  a  refuse-heap  at  Cissbury,  proves  that 
the  wild  ox  was  still  living  in  the  forests,  and  was  some- 
times a  victim  to  the  Neolithic  hunter.  They  also  ate 
hares,  wild  boars  and  beavers." 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE   BRONZE    PERIOD 

The  Aryan  Race — Goidels  and  Brythons — Early  Accounts 
of  Britain — Lake  Dwellings — Crannogs — The  Glastonbury 
Lake  Village — Pile  Dwellings — Bronze  Celts— Swords — 
Personal  Ornaments— Casting  of  Bronze — Pottery— Cloth- 
ing. 

The  Celtic  immigrants,  whether  belonging  to  the  earlier 
Goidelic,  or  to  the  later  Brythonic  wing,  were  members 
of  the  Aryan  race,  a  race  which  had  attained  to  a  consider- 
able pitch  of  civilisation  before  the  arrival  of  either  division 
on  these  shores.  From  an  examination  of  the  words  which 
seem  to  have  belonged  to  the  original  tongue,  we  learn  that 
the  undivided  Aryan  race  reckoned  its  year  by  months 
determined  by  the  phases  of  the  moon,  which  they  styled 
the  measurer,  that  they  had  domesticated  animals,  could 
count  up  to  one  hundred,  and  had  a  religion,  a  large  part 
of  which  was  a  profound  reverence  for  the  hearth  as  the 
altar  and  shrine  of  ancestral  deities.  Traces  of  this  reverence 
are  to  be  met  with  even  in  these  days,  especially  in  Scotland 
and  Ireland,  where  to  "  trample  the  cinders  "  is  one  of  the 
worst  insults  which  can  be  offered  to  a  household.  It  is  in 
the  customs  connected  with  the  initiation  of  the  new-born 
child  into  the  family  circle,  however,  that  perhaps  the  most 
striking  reUcs  of  this  reverence  have  been  found  in  recent 
times.  Pennant  narrates  that  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland 
he  saw  at  christening-feasts  the  father  place  a  basket  of 
food  across  the  fire  and  hand  the  child  three  times  over  the 


THE    BRONZE    PERIOD  69 

food  and  the  flames.  Another  striking  custom,  also  met 
with  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  described  by  Light- 
foot,  is  when,  after  the  birth  of  the  child,  the  nurse  takes  a 
green  stick  of  ash,  one  end  of  which  she  puts  in  the  fire, 
and  while  it  is  burning  receives  in  a  spoon  the  sap  that  oozes 
from  the  other,  which  she  administers  to  the  child  as  its 
first  food.  "Some  thousands  of  years  ago,"  says  Kelly*  in 
his  "  Indo-European  Folk-lore,"  commenting  upon  this 
custom,  "  the  ancestors  of  this  Highland  nurse  had  known 
the  fraxinus  ornus  in  Arya,  and  now  their  descendant, 
imitating  their  practice  in  the  cold  North,  but  totally  ignorant 
of  its  true  meaning,  puts  the  nauseous  sap  of  her  native  ash 
into  the  mouth  of  her  hapless  charge."  It  was  perhaps  on 
account  of  their  reverence  for  the  hearth  that  they  regarded 
the  eating  of  uncooked  meat  with  such  scorn  that  the  term 
eaters  of  uncooked  meat,  or  some  similar  phrase,  is  applied 
in  many  of  the  derivative  languages  to  barbarous  men. 

But  perhaps  the  most  important  piece  of  knowledge  which 
they  brought  with  them  to  this  country  was  that  of  the 
working  of  metal  in  the  shape  of  bronze,  the  period,  at  least 
the  earlier  part  of  it  to  which  they  belonged,  having  from 
that  circumstance  received  the  name  of  the  Bronze  Age. 

As  has  already  been  mentioned,  the  Celtic  peoples 
came  over  to  this  country  in  two  bands,  separated  from 
one  another  by  several  centuries.  The  Goidels,  who 
were  the  first  to  arrive,  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent 
amalgamated  with  the  Ivernians,  whom  they  found  in 
possession,  and  seem  to  have  in  part  at  least  assimilated 
their  Druidism,  a  question  which  will  have  to  be  more 
fully  dealt  with  on  a  future  page.  As  to  the  Brythons, 
Professor  Rhys  remarks  that  :  "The  name  Brittones  is  that 
which  all  the  Celts  who  have  spoken  a  Brythonic  tongue  in 
later  times  own  in  common  ;  among  the  Kymry  it  becomes 

"•'  In  reference  to  this  passage,  it  must  be  remembered  that  Kelly 
fully  held  the  Central- Asian  view  of  the  Aryan  origin. 


70  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

Brython,  which  is  one  of  the  names  they  still  give  them- 
selves, and  from  which  they  derive  the  word  Brythoneg,  one 
of  their  names  for  the  Welsh  language.  This,  in  old  Cornish, 
was  Brethonec,  and  meant  the  Brythonic  dialect  of  Wales 
and  Cornwall,  after  the  (joidelic  had  been  chased  away.  In 
Breton  the  word  assumes  the  form  Brezonek,  and  means  the 
Brythonic  tongue  spoken  in  lesser  Britain  or  PJrittany.  So," 
he  continues,  "  when  one  wants  to  speak  collectively  of  this 
linguistic  group  of  Celts  from  the  Clyde  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  Loire,  confusion  is  best  avoided  by  calling  them 
by  some  such  names  as  Brythons  and  Brythonic,  leaving  the 
words  Britain,  British  and  Britannic  for  other  uses,  including 
amongst  them  the  exigencies  of  the  Englishman  who,  in  his 
more  playful  moods,  condescends  to  call  himself  a  Briton." 
The  name  Brythonic,  which  the  race  appears  to  have 
adopted  before  reaching  this  island,  means  a  cloth-clad 
people,  in  contradistinction  to  a  people  dressed  in  skins, 
some  continental  tribe  being  doubtless  indicated  who  used 
the  hides  of  beasts  for  their  clothing.  When  these  immi- 
grants reached  this  country,  it  cannot  have  been  a  very 
attractive  spot  for  occupation,  covered  as  it  was  with  vast 
forests  and  marshes,  overhung  with  constant  fogs  and 
deluged  with  frequent  rains.  During  their  occupancy,  in 
the  fourth  century  before  Christ,  we  have  indeed  direct 
evidence  of  the  condition  of  the  country,  for  at  that  period 
an  energetic  syndicate  of  merchants  of  Massilia,  the  modern 
Marseilles,  being  anxious  to  extend  their  trading  relations, 
fitted  out  an  expeditioti,  which  they  placed  in  charge  of  a 
learned  Greek  mathematician,  Pytheas  by  name,  a  contem- 
porary of  Aristotle  and  Alexander  the  Creat.  He  twice 
visited  these  shores,  and  from  his  observations  we  learn  that 
he  was  struck  by  the  contrast  which  the  climate  of  Britain 
presented  when  compared  with  that  of  the  South  of  Europe, 
whence  he  came.  "The  natives,"  he  says,  "collect  the 
sheaves  in  great  barns,  and  thrash  out  the  corn  there,  be- 


THE   BRONZE    PERIOD  71 

cause  they  have  so  Httle  sunshine  that  our  open  thrashing- 
places  would  be  of  little  use  in  that  land  of  clouds  and 
rain."  He  also  tells  us  that  the  inhabitants  made  a  drink 
"  by  mixing  wheat  and  honey,"  in  which  statement  he 
doubtless  alludes  to  mead  or  metheglin,  a  compound  still 
prepared  in  some  parts  of  the  country.  It  is  probable  that 
he  was  also  the  first  to  mention  the  British  beer,  which  was 
known  to  the  Greek  physicians  by  a  Celtic  term,  cur  mi,  now 
ciiirm  in  Irish  and  cwriv  in  Welsh,  a  drink  against  which 
they  warned  their  patients  as  one  "  producing  pain  in  the 
head  and  injury  to  the  nerves."  But  the  authority  for  this 
statement  may  have  been  another  Greek  explorer,  Posi- 
donius,  who  had  been  a  fellow  student  with  Cicero  at 
Rhodes,  and  who  visited  this  country  two  centuries  later 
than  Pytheas.  At  any  rate,  he  is  supposed  to  have  been 
the  person  from  whom  Diodorus  Siculus  learnt  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Britain  lived  in  mean  dwellings,  made  for  the 
most  part  of  reeds  and  wood,  and  that  their  harvests  con- 
sisted in  cutting  off  the  ears  of  corn  and  storing  them  in 
underground  pits,  from  which  they  fetched  each  day  those 
which  had  been  longest  in  store  to  be  prepared  for  food. 

In  speaking  of  the  mean  dwellings  of  wood  or  reeds,  he 
was  probably  alluding  to  the  huts  of  wattle  and  daub  which 
have  been  found  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  lake 
dwellings  of  the  period. 

Lake  dwellings  are  of  two  kinds,  the  crannog  and  the 
pile  building,  and  it  will  now  be  necessary  to  say  something 
about  either  variety.  But  first  it  may  be  remarked  that, 
though  different  in  construction,  the  idea  was  the  same  in 
each  case,  namely,  to  construct  a  habitation  surrounded  by 
water,  which  might  serve  as  an  effectual  barrier  against  the 
depredations  of  wild  beasts  or  of  human  enemies.  The 
same  idea  precisely  led  the  military  architects  of  a  later  date 
to  construct  moats  around  their  mounds  or  castles,  only  in 
the  latter  case  the  lake  was  constructed  around  the  island, 


72 


LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 


whilst  in  the  former  the  artificial  island  was  formed  in  the 
pre-existent  lake.  The  Irish  crannog  seems  to  have  been 
inhabited  to  what  may  be  called  a  recent  period,  for  in  1567 


Q    B 


en     K 

•n  (X 


we  find  that  "  one  'I'homas  I'hettiplace,  in  his  answer  to  an 
inquiry  from  the  ("lOvernment  as  to  what  castles  or  forts 
O'Neil  hath,  and  of  what  strength  they  be,  states : '  For  castles, 


THE    BRONZE    PERIOD  7^ 

I  think  it  be  not  unknown  to  your  honours,  he  trusteth  no 
point  thereunto  for  his  safety,  as  appeareth  by  the  raising  of 
the  strongest  castles  of  all  his  countreys,  and  that  fortification 
which  he  only  dependeth  upon  is  in  sartin  ffreshwater  loghes 
in  his  country,  which  from  the  sea  there  come  neither  ship 
nor  boat  to  approach  them ;  it  is  thought  that  there  in  the 
said  fortified  islands  lyeth  all  his  plate,  which  is  much,  and 
money,  prisoners  and  gages  ;  which  islands  hath  in  wars 
to  fore  been  attempted,  and  now  of  late  again  by  the  Lord 
Deputy  there.  Sir  Harry  Sidney,  which,  for  want  of  means 
for  safe  conducts  upon  the  water,  it  hath  not  prevailed.' " 

And  again  in  1603,  it  is  stated  in  the  "  Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters,"  that  Hugh  Boy  O'Donnell,  having  been  wounded, 
"  was  sent  to  crannog-na-n-Duini,  in  Ross  Guill,  in  the 
TuathaS;  to  be  healed." 

In  Scotland  also  they  were  inhabited  to  a  late  date,  for 
in  some  instructions  to  "Andro  bischop  of  the  YUis  "  and 
others  in  1608  we  read  :  "That  the  haill  houssis  of  defence 
strongholdis  and  cranokis  in  the  YUis  perteining  to  thame 
and  their  foirsaidis  sal  be  dely verit  to  his  Maiestie  and  sic  as 
his  Heynes  sail  appoint  to  ressave  the  same  to  be  vsit  at 
his  Maiesty's  pleasour.'  Another  crannog  in  the  loch  of 
Forfar,  partly  natural  and  partly  artificial,  bears  the  name 
of  St.  Margaret,  the  queen  of  Malcolm  Canmore,  who  died 
in  1097.  A  record  of  1508  states  that  the  artificial  barrier 
of  the  isle  had  been  repaired  in  that  year. 

It  will  be  well  to  learn  something  about  the  structure  of 
the  crannogs  of  the  countries  mentioned  above  before 
turning  our  attention  to  an  English  example,  and  for  this 
purpose  the  accounts  of  some  of  those  who  have  made  these 
structures  a  subject  of  special  investigation,  may  be  quoted. 
Sir  William  Wilde,  writing  about  Irish  crannogs,  says,  "  that 
they  were  not,  strictly  speaking,  artificial  islands,  but  cluans, 
small  islets,  or  shallows  of  clay  or  marl,  in  those  lakes 
which  were  probably  dry  in  summer  time,  but  submerged 


74 


LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 


in  winter.  These  were  enlarged  and  fortified  by  piles  of 
oaken  timber,  and  in  some  cases  by  stonework.  A  few 
were  approached  by  moles  or  causeways,  but,  generally 
speaking,  they  were  completely  insulated  and  only  ac- 
cessible by  boat ;  and  it  is  notable  that  in  almost  every 
instance  an  ancient  canoe  was  discovered  in  connection 
with  the  crannoge.  Being  thus  insulated  they  afforded 
secure  places  of  retreat  from  the  attacks  of  enemies,  or 
were  the  fastnesses  of  predatory  chiefs  or  robbers,  to  which 
might  be  conveyed  the  booty  of  a  marauding  excursion,  or 
the  product  of  a  cattle  raid."  On  the  same  subject,  Mr. 
Wakeman,  a  well-known  Irish  archaeologist,  writes  :"  The 


Fig.  22. — Section  of  Crannog  in  Ardakillen  Lough,  Co.  Roscom- 
mon (Ireland).     (From  Wood-Martin's  "  Pagan  Ireland.") 

Irish  crannog,  great  or  small,  was  simply  an  island,  either 
altogether  or  in  part  artificial,  strongly  staked  with  piles  of 
oak,  pine,  yew,  alder,  or  other  timber,  encompassed  by 
rows  of  palisading  (the  bases  of  which  now  usually  remain), 
behind  which  the  occupiers  of  the  hold  might  defend  them- 
selves with  advantage  against  assailants.  Within  the 
enclosure  were  usually  one  or  more  log-houses  which  no 
doubt  afforded  shelter  to  the  dwellers  during  the  night- 
time, or  whenever  the  state  of  the  weather  necessitated  a 
retreat  under  cover."  In  Scotland  their  structure  was 
similar  to  that  just  described,  and  the  method  of  their  erec- 
tion has  been  studied  in  that  country  by  Dr.  Munro,  who 
points   out  that    it  was   a    task    of   no    small    difficulty  to 


THE    BRONZE    PERIOD 


75 


construct,  in  perhaps  ten  feet  of  water,  with  very  likely  a 
treacherous  bottom  beneath  it,  a  firm  compact  artificial 
island,  possibly  with  a  circular  area  of  as  much  as  loo  feet. 


Fig.  23. — A  completely  drained  Lake- Bed  at  Cloneygonnell, 
Co.  Cavan  (Ireland),  with  site  of  Crannog  in  foreground. 
(From  Wood-Martin's  "  Pagan  Ireland.") 


R    A    I     u    w     A 
1 


Fig. 


2|. — General  Plan  of  the  Lake-Bed  shown  in  Fig.  23,  with 
sites  of  plateaux.     (From  the  same  book.) 


76  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

He  believes  that  the  work  was  thus  carried  out:  (i)  Im- 
mediately over  the  chosen  site  a  circular  raft  of  trunks  of 
trees,  laid  above  branches  and  brushwood,  was  formed, 
and  above  it  additional  layers  of  logs,  together  with  stones, 
gravel,  Sec,  were  heaped  up  till  the  whole  mass  grounded. 
(2)  As  this  process  went  on,  upright  piles,  made  of  oak, 
and  of  the  required  length,  were  inserted  into  prepared 
holes  in  the  structure,  and  probably  also  a  few  were 
inserted  into  the  bed  of  the  lake.  (3)  The  rough  logs 
forming  the  horizontal  layers  were  made  of  various  kinds  of 
wood,  generally  birch,  it  being  the  most  abundant.  These 
were  occasionally  pinned  together  by  thick  oak  pegs,  and 
here  and  there  at  various  levels  oak  beams  mortised  into 
one  another  stretched  across  the  substance  of  the  island, 
and  joined  the  surrounding  piles.  (4)  'When  a  sufficient 
height  above  the  water  line  was  attained,  a  prepared 
pavement  of  oak  beams  was  constructed,  and  mortised 
beams  were  laid  over  the  tops  of  the  encircling  piles 
which  bound  them  firmly  together  as  already  described. 
The  margin  of  the  island  was  also  slantingly  shaped  by 
an  intricate  arrangement  of  beams  and  stones,  constituting 
in  some  cases  a  well-formed  breakwater.  (5)  When  the 
skeleton  of  the  isfand  was  thus  finished,  probably  turf  would 
be  laid  over  its  margin  where  the  pointed  piles  protruded,  and 
a  superficial  barrier  of  hurdles,  or  some  such  fence,  erected 
close  to  the  edge  of  the  water.  (6)  Frequendy  a  wooden 
gangway,  probably  submerged,  stretched  to  the  shore,  by 
means  of  which  secret  access  to  the  crannog  could  be 
obtained  without  the  use  of  a  canoe.  The  crannogs  dis- 
covered up  to  now  in  England  are  much  fewer  in  number 
than  those  of  the  other  parts  of  the  kingdom,  but  whether 
for  size  or  for  importance  of  the  discoveries  made  therein, 
none  of  them  surpasses  the  lake-village  near  Glastonbury, 
which  has  been  for  some  years  undergoing  investigation 
•jnder  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Bulleid.     Although  the  finds 


THE   BRONZE    PERIOD  77 

in  this  village  point  to  its  having  been  inhabited  during  the 
Roman  occupation,  in  its  character  it  belongs  strictly  to 
the  period  with  which  we  are  now  concerned.  This  village 
was  constructed  on  the  edge  of  a  mere  now  converted  into 
a  peat  moor,  but  when  in  occupation  would  have  been  pro- 
tected from  attack  by  the  sheet  of  water  which  lay  between 
it  and  Glastonbury,  which  is  one  mile  distant.  It  consisted 
of  a  cluster  of  round  huts  which  were  erected  upon  artificial 
platforms  of  clay  and  timber  and  surrounded  by  a  stockade. 
Each  hut  was  from  12  to  14  feet  in  diameter,  and  was  con- 
structed of  what  is  known  as  wattle  and  daub,  that  is  to  say, 
a  kind  of  wicker-work,  smeared  over  with  clay,  and  each 
had  a  wooden  door  about  3  feet  high.  In  the  centre  of 
each  floor  was  a  stone  hearth  for  a  fire,  and  outside  each 
door  a  few  slabs  of  lias  formed  a  rough  platform  in  front  of 
the  wooden  threshold.  The  stockade  around  the  village 
was  composed  of  a  palisading  of  piles  from  3  to  9  inches  in 
diameter,  and  from  9  to  11  feet  high,  which  were  kept 
together  by  a  kind  of  rough  hurdle -work.  Canoes  of  oak 
have  been  discovered  by  which  the  inhabitants  gained  access 
to  the  mainland.  It  may  be  well  to  anticipate  to  some 
extent  what  will  hereafter  be  said  of  the  implements  of  the 
Bronze  period,  and  to  give  some  account  of  what  has  been 
found  in  this  village,  it  being  premised  that  whilst  it 
belonged  to  the  people  of  the  Bronze  age,  it  belonged  to 
them  at  a  time  when,  through  the  Roman  influence,  they 
had  learnt  the  use  of  iron  and  perhaps  of  other  things  not 
known  during  what  was  strictly  the  Bronze  age.  Various 
implements  of  iron,  both  civil  and  military,  have  been  found, 
and  the  presence  of  some  of  these  in  an  unfinished  condi- 
tion^  as  well  as  of  lumps  of  scorife,  show  that  the  forges 
existed  m  the  village  itself.  Glass  slag  has  also  been  found, 
which  seems  to  show  that  the  inhabitants  manufactured  the 
beads  of  that  material  met  with  amongst  their  remains. 
They  worked  in  bronze,  and  a  fine  bowl,  fibulae,  pins,  and 


78  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

other  articles  testify  to  their  skill  in  this  direction.  They 
smelted  lead  ore,  doubtless  obtained  from  the  neighbouring 
Mendips,  and  made  from  it  spindle -whorls  and  weights  for 
their  fishing-nets.  They  made  pottery  partly  by  the  aid  of 
the  wheel  and  partly — in  a  ruder  manner— by  hand,  and 
decorated  it  with  designs  of  various  kinds.  They  spun  flax 
and  used  the  loom  for  weaving.  Perhaps  that  which 
excites  the  greatest  admiration  is  the  remarkable  skill  which 
they  showed  in  carpentry,  beams  well  squared  and  holed, 
wheels,  ladders,  doors,  buckets,  dishes  and  bowls,  many 
of  them  adorned  with  incised  patterns  of  a  flamboyant 
character,  remaining  as  evidences  of  their  capabilities  in 
this  direction.  Besides  ornamenting  their  persons  with 
beads,  rings  and  pins,  they  seem  to  have  painted  themselves 
with  red  ochre  and  charcoal  mixed  with  grease.  Some  of 
the  human  remains  which  have  been  found  outside  the 
stockade  are  cut  and  broken,  and  some  of  the  skulls, 
including  one  of  a  woman,  have  been  cut  off  the  body  and 
stuck  upon  the  head  of  a  spear,  to  be  placed  probably  on 
the  stockade,  just  as  the  heads  of  criminals  were,  up  to  a 
recent  date,  stuck  upon  the  gates  of  cities  or  over  bridges. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  village  cultivated  wheat  on  the  main- 
land adjacent,  and  had  flocks  and  herds  ;  they  were  also  pro- 
vided with  large  dogs.  They  killed  for  their  food  the  red 
deer  and  the  roe,  the  beaver  and  the  otter,  as  well  as  wild 
geese,  swans,  ducks  and  pelicans.  Such  was  the  nature  of 
a  British  lake-settlement,  and  such  the  mode  of  life  of  its 
inhabitants  in  the  third  and  fourth  centuries  after  Christ. 
The  other  form  of  lake-village,  which  has  been  met  with 
especially  in  the  Swiss  lakes,  was  built  in  a  totally  different 
manner.  Long  piles  were  driven  into  the  bed  of  the  lake, 
and  when  a  sufficient  number  of  these  were  in  position  a 
platform  was  constructed  upon  them,  on  which  were  even- 
tually raised  the  huts  in  which  the  inhabitants  dwelt.  The 
jest  which  Erasmus  made  in  reference   to  the   citizens  of 


THE    BRONZE    PERIOD  79 

Amsterdam,  that  he  knew  a  city  where  people  Hved  on  the 
tops  of  trees,  might  well  have  been  applied  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  these  villages.  Such  settlements  still  exist  in  some 
parts  of  the  world,  and  the  description  which  Herodotus 
gave  of  one  belonging,  in  his  day,  to  the  Pseonians,  not 
merely  shows  what  such  constructions  were  like,  but  affords 
a  clue  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they  were  built  and 
extended  to  meet  the  growing  needs  of  the  community. 
"Their  dwellings,"  he  says,  "are  contrived  after  this  man- 
ner :  planks  fitted  on  lofty  piles  are  placed  in  the  middle  of 
the  lake,  with  a  narrow  entrance  from  the  mainland  by  a 
single  bridge.  These  piles,  that  support  the  planks,  all  the 
citizens  anciently  placed  there  at  the  public  charge ;  but 
afterwards  they  established  a  law  to  the  following  effect : 
whenever  a  man  marries,  for  each  wife  he  sinks  three  piles, 
bringing  wood  from  a  mountain  called  Orbelus  ;  but  every 
man  has  several  wives.  They  live  in  the  following  manner  : 
every  man  has  a  hut  on  the  planks,  in  which  he  dwells,  with 
a  trap-door  closely  fitted  in  the  planks,  and  leading  down  to 
the  lake.  Thsy  tie  the  young  children  with  a  cord  round 
the  foot,  fearing  lest  they  should  fall  into  the  lake  beneath. 
To  their  horses  and  beasts  of  burden  they  give  fish  for 
fodder,  of  which  there  is  such  abundance,  that  when  a  man 
has  opened  his  trap-door,  he  lets  down  an  empty  basket  by 
a  cord  into  the  lake,  and,  after  waiting  a  short  time,  draws 
it  up  full  of  fish." 

This  description  of  the  dwelling-places  particularly  asso- 
ciated with  the  people  of  the  Bronze  period  has  necessitated 
some  digression  into  the  life  at  another  and  later  date,  and 
in  other  countries,  but  we  must  now  return  to  the  time 
before  the  Celtic  inhabitants  of  the  country  had  been 
affected  by  Roman  influence  and  see  what  light  the  remains 
in  our  possession  throw  upon  the  state  of  civilisation  of  that 
period.  The  most  characteristic  weapons  and  other  imple- 
ments of  this  age  are  composed  of  the  metal  bronze,  for 


8o  LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

although  it  is  possible  that  there  may  have  been  a  time 
when  copper  was  used  in  a  pure  state,  such  period  must 
have  been  of  short  duration,  for  the  lesson  was  soon  learnt 
that  the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of  tin  produced  a 
more  serviceable  and  harder  material  for  the  purposes  for 
which  it  was  required.  It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed 
that  the  manufacture  of  stone  weapons  came  to  a  sudden 
and  complete  end  with  the  introduction  of  bronze.  On  the 
contrary,  we  know,  as  an  historical  fact,  that  the  English 
forces,  at  the  battle  of  Senlac,  used  stone  mauls  as  well  as 
other  weapons.  Again,  the  extreme  rarity  of  arrow-heads 
made  of  bronze  leads  us  to  conclude  that  stone  was  still 
used  for  this  purpose,  even  during  the  Bronze  period,  and 
this  perhaps  because  that  metal  was  too  precious  to  be  sub- 
jected to  the  risk  of  loss  which  must  necessarily  attach  to 
such  a  weapon  as  an  arrow-head. 

Just  as  each  of  the  Stone  periods  had  its  characteristic 
axe  or  celt,  so  also  has  the  Bronze  age,  though  the  weapon 
varies  more  in  its  shape  on  account  of  the  greater  possibili- 
ties opened  up  to  the  craftsman  by  the  nature  of  the 
material  in  which  he  worked,  a  material  which  was  cast 
and  not  hewn.  But  in  its  essential  features,  and  this 
particularly  in  the  case  of  those  celts  which  are  supposed  to 
be  the  earliest  in  date,  it  was  very  similar  in  shape  to  the 
stone  celt  of  the  polished  period.  Such  early  implements 
form  the  first  class,  and  are  called  Jlat  celts,  and  some  of 
these  are  ornamented  on  their  faces  with  patterns  such  as 
lines,  chevrons  and  herring  bones  produced  by  punches  or 
gravers.  A  similar  form  of  ornamentation  is  found  in  some 
instances  on  the  second  variety,  or  /la >igedctt\ti,  the  edges  of 
which  have  projecting  ledges,  either  because  they  have  been 
so  cast  originally,  or  because,  after  having  been  cast  flat,  the 
edges  have  been  hammered  up  so  as  to  form  flanges.  The 
third  type,  or  iC>i//gi'd  celt,  is  in  its  simplest  form  an  ex 
aggeralion  of  the  Hanged  variety,  the  llanges  being  shorter, 


THE   BRONZE   PERIOD 


P 


Fig.   25. — Flat   Bronze  Celt  found  in  a  Barrow  at  Butterwick, 
Yorks,  with  side  view  and  section.     (Sir  John  Evans.) 


Fig.  26. — Flanged  Bronze  Celt  found  in  Dorsetshire.  (Sir  John 
Evans.)  The  sides  are  decorated  with  a  fluted  chevron 
pattern,  and  the  faces  with  indented  herring-bone  and  chevron 
patterns. 

F 


82  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

but  much  deeper.  Sometimes  there  is  a  transverse  stop- 
ridge  across  the  blade  to  prevent  its  slipping  too  deeply  into 
its  haft,  and  sometimes,  to  assist  towards  the  same  end,  that 
part  of  the  blade  which  is  between  the  flanges  and  below 
the  stop-ridge  is  thinner  than  the  rest.  Thus  a  kind  of 
groove  is  formed  on  each  side  into  which  the  handle  fitted. 
In  some  cases  the  edges  of  the  flanges  were  hammered  over 
so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  socket,  like  that  often  used  at  the 
present  day  for  iron  implements,  such  as  rakes  and  hoes. 


Fig.   27. — Looped    Palstave   found   at    Brassington,    Derbyshire. 
(Sir  John  Evans.) 


This  variety  led  up  to  the  last  and  most  perfect  form  of 
socketed  celts,  in  which,  as  Sir  John  Evans  puts  it,  the 
haft  was  embedded  in  the  blade,  instead  of,  as  in  the  other 
cases,  the  blade  being  embedded  in  the  haft.  This  form 
marks  an  advance  in  casting,  as  a  more  perfect  mould  must 
have  been  employed,  with  a  core  for  the  socket  and 
special  arrangements  for  the  ring  or  loop,  which  was  often 
placed  at  the  side  of  the  blade,  so  that  the  head  might  be 
more  securely  fastened  to  the  haft.  In  this  variety  orna- 
mentation   in    the   shape  of  reedings,  pellets,  circles   and 


THE    BRONZE    PERIOD 


83 


other  devices  is  sometimes  met  with,  the  patterns  being 
raised  and  produced  in  the  casting  and  not  by  the  subse- 
quent use  of  tools.     As  to  the  handhng  of  these  celts,  the 


Fig.  28.— Socketed  and  Ringed  Celt  with  raised  ornament,  found 
at  Kingston,  Surrey.     (Sir  John  Evans.) 


simpler  forms  may  have  been  attached  to  their  hafts  much 
as  the  stone  celts  were  to  theirs,  but  the  others  would 
require  a  crooked  helve  if  they  were  to  be  used  as  axes. 
One  such  celt  with  its  handle  was  found  in  Ireland,  in 
which  the   helve   consisted   of    a   branch   with    a   second 


§4  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

portion  sticking  out  from  it  nearly  at  right  angles,  to  which 
the  head  was  attached.      Other  implements  of  the  same 


M.S 


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metal  which  have  come  down  to  us  are  chisels,  gouges, 
hammers,  punches,  awls,  tongs,  socketed  and  tanged 
knives,  daggers,  razors  and  sickles.     Special  nicntion  must 


THE   BRONZE    PERIOD  85 

be  made  of  two  classes  of  weapons,  swords  and  lance- 
heads.  The  former  are  leaf-shaped  and  their  "total 
length  is  generally  about  24  inches,  though  sometimes 
not  more  than  16  inches,  but  they  are  occasionally  as  long 
as  30  inches,  or  even  more.  The  blades  are  in  most  cases 
uniformly  rounded,  but  with  the  part  next  the  edge  slightly 
drawn  down  so  as  to  form  a  shallow  fluting.  In  some 
instances,  however,  there  is  a  more  or  less  bold  rounded 
central  rib,  or  else  projecting  ridges  running  along  the 
greater  part  of  the  blade  near  the  edges.  They  differ 
considerably  in  the  form  of  the  plate  for  the  hilt,  and  in 
the  number  and  arrangement  of  the  rivets  by  w^hich  the 
covering  material  was  attached.  This  latter  usually  con- 
sisted of  plates  of  horn,  bone  or  wood,  riveted  on  each, side 
of  the  hilt  plate.  In  rare  instances  the  outer  part  of  the 
hilt  was  of  bronze."  (Evans.)  Sometimes,  though  rarely,  a 
pommel  has  been  cast  on  to  the  handle,  and  occasionally 
a  considerable  part  of  the  scabbard  was  made  of  the  same 
material  as  the  blade,  though  probably,  for  the  most  part, 
the  sheaths  were  of  leather  or  wood. 

The  spear-heads  found  in  this  island  are  of  the  socketed 
variety,  great  care  and  skill  having  been  bestowed  on  the 
coring.  They  may  be  divided  into  the  following  classes  : 
(i)  The  simple  leaf-shaped,  either  long  and  narrow,  or 
broad,  with  holes  in  the  socket  through  which  to  pass 
the  rivets  to  fasten  them  to  the  shaft.  (2)  The  looped, 
with  eyes  on  each  side  of  the  socket  below  and  on 
the  same  plane  with  the  blade.  These  are  generally 
of  the  long,  narrow,  straight-edged  kind.  (3)  Those 
with  loops  in  the  angles  between  the  edge  of  the  blade 
and  the  socket.  (4)  Those  with  side  apertures  and  per- 
forations through  the  blade.  (5)  Those  in  which  the  base 
of  each  side  of  the  blade  projects  at  right  angles  to  the 
socket,  or  is  prolonged  downwards  so  as  to  form  barbs. 
Besides  these  weapons  of  offence,  pieces  of  defensive  armour, 


86 


LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 


in  the  shape  of  shields,  bucklers  and  helmets,  have  been 
found,  for  a  full  description  of  which  the  reader  is  referred 
to    the   work   of    Sir   John    Evans   on    "Ancient    Bronze 


Fig.  30. — Bronze  Pins  found  in  Ireland.  (Sir  John  Evans.)  One 
has  a  loop  at  the  side,  the  other  has  a  turned-over  head  of  the 
type  described  in  the  text. 


Weapons  of  (Ireat  Britain,"  a  work  which  must  form  the 
basis  of  all  study  of  this  subject. 

Amongst  articles  of  personal  adornment   may  be   men- 
tioned pins,  cither  for  fastening  the  clothes  or  for  the  hair. 


THE   BRONZE    PERIOD  87 

which  have  been  found  in  great  quantities  and  of  very 
various  patterns,  the  head  being  sometimes  turned  over 
so  as  to  be  visible  when  stuck  in  the  clothes,  just  as 
that  of  a  scarf-pin  is  when  placed  in  a  tie.  Others  have 
rings   or   loops   attached    to  them    and    others   again    are 


Fig.  31. — Torque  found  at  Wedmore,  Somerset. 
(Sir  John  Evans.) 


ornamented  with  patterns  of  various  kinds.  To  this 
period  also  belong  the  torques,  or  twisted  necklets, 
bracelets,  finger  and  ear  rings,  sometimes  of  gold,  some- 
times of  bronze,  which  have  been  found  in  various  parts  of 
these  islands.  The  torque  seems  to  have  been  a  favourite 
ornament  of  the  Celtic  race;  it  "takes  its  name  from  the 


88 


LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 


Latin  torques^  which  again  is  derived  a  torquendo.  This 
word  torques  was  appHed  to  a  twisted  collar  of  gold  or 
other  metal  worn  around  the  neck.  Among  the  ancient 
Gauls  gold  torques  appear  to  have  been  abundant,  and  to 
have  formed  an  important  part  of  the  spoils  acquired  from 
them  by  their  Roman  conquerors.     About  223  n.c,  when 


Fig.  32. — Bronze  Caldron  found  in  Carlinwark  Loch,  Kirkcud- 
brightshire. (Scot.  Ant.  Mus.)  It  is  composed  of  thin  plates 
of  bronze  riveted  toeether. 


Flaminius  Nepos  gained  his  victory  over  the  Oauls  on  the 
Addua,  it  is  related  that  instead  of  the  (lauls  dedicating,  as 
they  had  intended,  a  torque  made  from  the  spoils  of  the 
Roman  soldiers  to  their  god  of  war,  Flaminius  erected  to 
Jupiter  a  golden  trophy  made  from  the  Gaulish  tonjues. 
The  name  of  the  Torquati,  a  family  of  the  Manlia  gens, 
was  derived  from  their  ancestor,  T.  Manlius,  liaving,  in  n.c. 
361,  slain  a  gigantic  Gaul  in  single  combat,  whose  torque  he 


THE    BRONZE   PERIOD 


89 


took  from  his  dead  body  after  cutting  off  the  head,  and 
placed  it  around  his  own  neck."  (Evans.)  Some  of  these 
torques  are  of  great  size,  one  in  the  possession  of  the  Duke 
of  Westminster,  which  was  found  near  Holywell  in  Flint- 
shire, is  of  gold,  measures  44  inches  in  circumference  and 
weighs  28  ounces. 

Vessels,  cups  and  caldrons  of  gold  and  bronze  were  made 


Fig.  33. — Stone  Mould  for  casting  flat  Bronze  Axes  and  Knife, 
found  in  Ireland.     (Scot.  Ant.  Mus. ) 


at  this  period,  the  last  mentioned  being  sometimes  formed 
of  thin  plates  of  bronze  riveted  together,  and  having  rings 
or  lugs  by  which  they  could  be  lifted.  The  objects  in 
bronze  appear  to  have  been  cast  in  the  following  ways,  as 
summarised  by  Sir  John  Evans  :  (i)  In  a  single  mould 
formed  of  loam,  sand,  stone,  or  metal,  the  upper  surface  of 
the  casting  exhibiting  the  flat  surface  of  a  molten  metal, 
which  was  left  open  to  the  air.  In  the  case  of  loam  or  sand 
castings  a  pattern  or  model  would  be  used,  which  might  be 
an  object  already  in  use,  or  made  of  the  desired  form  in 


90  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

wood  or  other  soft  substance.  Several  specimens  of  stone 
moulds  for  the  casting  of  celts  or  spear-heads  have  been 
discovered.  (2)  In  double  moulds  of  similar  materials. 
The  castings  produced  in  this  manner,  when  in  an  un- 
finished condition,  show  the  joints  of  the  moulds.  When 
sand  was  employed  a  frame  or  flask  of  some  kind  must  have 
been  used  to  retain  the  material  in  place  when  the  upper 
half  of  the  mould  was  lifted  off  the  pattern.  The  loam 
moulds  were  probably  burnt  hard  before  being  used.  In 
many  cases  cores  for  producing  hollows  in  the  castings  were 
employed  in  conjunction  with  these  moulds.  Double  moulds 
have  also  been  found  for  the  casting  of  celts.  (3)  In  what 
may  be  termed  solid  moulds.  P^or  this  process  the  model 
was  made  of  wax,  wood,  or  some  combustible  material, 
which  was  encased  in  a  mass  of  loam,  possibly  mixed  with 
cow-dung  or  vegetable  matter,  which  on  exposure  to  heat 
left  the  loam  or  clay  in  a  porous  condition.  This  exposure 
to  fire  also  burnt  out  the  wax  or  wood  model  and  left  a 
cavity  for  the  reception  of  the  metal,  which  was  probably 
poured  in  while  the  mould  was  still  hot. 

The  pottery  of  the  period,  consisting  of  urns  for  the  ashes 
of  the  dead  after  cremation,  of  pots  for  cooking,  drinking 
vessels,  &c.,  seems  to  have  been  made  by  hand,  and  was 
ornamented  with  simple  patterns  formed  by  dots  and  straight 
lines.  Indeed  the  art  of  the  period  is  very  simple  in  its 
character,  being  limited  to  geometrical  designs,  such  as 
circles,  triangles,  crosses,  chevrons,  and  the  like. 

The  clothing  was  of  linen  and  wool,  and  portions  of 
the  apparatus  for  spinning  and  weaving  both  of  these 
materials  have  been  discovered.  Naturally,  perishable 
fabrics  such  as  these  are  but  seldom  found,  but  in  the 
Scale-house  barrow  at  Rylstone,  the  body  had  been 
covered  from  head  to  foot  in  cloth  before  being  placed 
in  the  hollow  oak  tree  which  served  for  a  coffin.  Further, 
a  wood'in   coffin  was   found  in  a  tumulus  in  Jutland,  con- 


THE    BRONZE    PERIOD 


9^ 


taining  a  body,  the  clothing  of  which  had  been  preserved 
by  the  presence  of  certain  saUs  in  the  water.  The  body 
had  been  wrapped  in  a  coarse  woollen  cloak  which  was 


Fig.  34. — Pottery  from  a  Bronze  Age  Cemetery  in  Scotland. 
(Scot.  Ant.  Mus.) 


almost  semicircular  and  hollowed  out  at  the  neck.  On  its 
inner  side  were  left  hanging  a  great  number  of  short  woollen 
threads,  which  gave  it  somewhat  the  appearance  of  plush. 
A  box  beside  the  body  contained,  amongst  other  articles,  a 
woollen  cap,  and  there  were  also  in  the  coffin  two  woollen 


92  LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

shawls,  of  a  square  shape  and  with  long  fringes.  A  shirt, 
also  of  wool,  cut  out  a  little  at  the  neck  and  with  a  long 
projecting  tongue  at  one  of  the  upper  angles,  had  been 
fastened  round  the  body  by  a  long  woollen  band  which  went 
twice  round  the  waist  and  hung  down  in  front.  Two  woollen 
leggings  and  traces  of  leather,  probably  representing  the 
remains  of  the  boots,  complete  the  equipment  of  this  early 
believer  in  Jiiger's  all-wool  theory  of  clothing. 

The  people  of  the  era  appear  to  have  arranged  their  hair 
in  a  large  shock  or  pyramid,  and  if  the  length  of  the  hairpins, 
some  of  which  measure  twenty  inches,  is  to  be  taken  as  a 
criterion,  this  must  at  times  have  attained  a  huge  size. 
Like  some  savage  races  of  to-day  who  treat  their  hair  in  a 
similar  manner,  they  used,  at  least  in  Switzerland,  where 
pottery  head-rests  of  a  crescentic  shape  have  been  found,  to 
support  their  necks  alone  and  not  their  heads  whilst  sleeping, 
for  fear  of  disarranging  a  head  of  hair  which  must  have 
given  them  considerable  trouble  to  arrange. 

Besides  the  metal  ornaments  mentioned  previously,  they 
decorated  their  persons  with  necklaces  of  stone,  bone,  and 
glass,  as  well  as  of  amber. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE    BRONZE    PERIOD— continued 

Camps  —  Maiden  Castle — Yarnbury  —  Caer  Caradoc  — 
Bridges — ^Stonehenge — Avebury — The  Rollright  Stones — 
Folk-lore— Menhirion — Round  Barrows — Celtic  Religion — 
Godiva's  Ride — Physical  Characteristics — Social  Life. 

Having  in  the  previous  chapter  considered  some  of  the 
smaller  relics  of  the  Bronze  age,  there  remain  for  investiga- 
tion some  of  the  larger  of  their  works,  such  as  camps, 
barrows,  and  megalithic  remains. 

Most  hilly  parts  of  England  afford  examples  of  the  kind 
of  earthwork  known  as  a  camp,  a  form  of  fortification 
which  consists  of  a  circular  bank  of  earth,  called  a  vallum, 
enclosing  an  area  of  variable  size,  and  having  on  its  outer 
aspect  a  ditch  called  the  fosse. 

Sometimes  there  are  two  or  three  concentric  series  of 
ramparts  and  ditches  in  the  case  of  the  larger  and  better 
fortified  camps.  Though  the  space  which  is  enclosed  is 
nearly  always  of  a  more  or  less  rounded  shape,  it  would  be 
a  mistake  to  suppose  that  all  British  camps  are  circular. 
Such  no  doubt  is  the  case  where  the  camp  is  placed  on  a 
flat  surface  or  where  the  contour  of  the  hill  favours  that 
shape,  but  where  an  oval  or  other  figure  is  more  in  con- 
formity with  the  top  of  the  hill  which  had  to  be  fortified,  a 
camp  of  the  corresponding  contour  has  been  constructed. 
Again,  in  some  cases,  as  at  the  great  camp  of  Croft  Ambrey, 
near  Ludlow,  the  artificial  ramparts  are  wanting  on  one  side, 


94  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

but  where  this  is  the  case  it  will  be  found  that  it  is  because 
the  natural  declivity  of  the  hill  is  so  great  at  that  part  as  to 
render  other  defences  unnecessary.  It  may  be  well  here  to 
mention  that  the  quadrilateral  camps  also  met  with  through- 
out the  country,  though  not  with  such  frequency  as  the 
other  variety,  are  of  Roman  origin,  and  will  be  more  fully 
dealt  with  at  a  later  part  of  this  work.  Sometimes  a  camp 
of  each  kind  is  to  be  found  in  the  same  neighbourhood,  as 
on  the  hill  above  Dunster  in  Somersetshire,  where  a  Roman 
camp  is  placed  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  one  of  the 
circular  fortifications  of  the  Britons.  The  fosse  and  vallum 
were  traversed  at  one  or  more  points  by  openings,  often 
guarded  by  advanced  earthworks,  and  probably  closed  in 
times  of  war  with  masses  of  timber. 

But  a  description  of  a  few  examples  will  enable  the 
reader  to  form  a  better  idea  of  what  an  ancient  British  camp 
was  like.  Maiden  Castle  was  the  British  predecessor  of  the 
Roman  Durnovaria,  now  the  Dorsetshire  Dorchester,  close 
to  which  it  stands.  It  has  been  identified  with  great  pro- 
bability with  the  city  called  Dunium  by  Ptolemy.  The 
name  appears  to  be  derived  from  Celtic  words  meaning  the 
Hill  of  Strength,  a  title  which  might  well  be  applied  to  one 
of  the  most  extensive  and  most  strongly  fortified  earthworks 
in  England.  It  occupies  the  flat  summit  of  a  natural  hill, 
is  looo  yards  long  and  500  wide,  and  is  surrounded  by 
double,  and  in  part  by  triple,  ditches  and  ramparts,  the 
latter  being  exceedingly  steep  and  even  now  sixty  feet  in 
height.  It  appears  to  have  had  four  entrances,  defended 
by  advanced  earthworks,  and  is  divided  internally  into  two 
parts  by  a  ditch  and  bank  of  very  much  lower  elevation  than 
those  forming  the  outer  defences.  In  having  been  the  pre- 
cursor of  a  Roman  and  subsequently  of  an  English  town, 
Maiden  Castle  is  not  singular,  for  the  same  has  happened 
at  other  places.  Old  Sarum,  for  example,  having  been  almost 
certainly  British,  and  Oswestry  having  been  preceded   by 


THE    BRONZE    PERIOD  95 

the  large  triple-ramparted  camp,  now  overgrown  with  trees 
and  nettles,  which  is  situated  about  a  mile  off  and  is  called 
Hen  Dinas  or  Old  Oswestry.  It  will  be  noted  that  the 
shape  of  Maiden  Castle  is  oval,  in  conformity  with  the  shape 
of  the  top  of  the  hill  which  it  occupies.  For  an  example  of 
a  great  circular  camp,  that  known  as  Yarnbury,  may  be 
selected.  This  is  situated  about  two  miles  from  Stonehenge, 
on  Salisbury  Plain  and  close  to  the  old  road  between  Bath 
and  Salisbury.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  double  fosse  and 
vallum,  the  inner  ditch  being  fifty  feet  deep,  and  the  principal 
entrance  is  defended  by  a  complicated  arrangement  of 
earthworks.  In  its  neighbourhood  are  a  host  of  other 
camps  of  the  same  period.  On  the  Herefordshire  Beacon, 
near  Malvern,  is  another  great  British  camp,  which  possesses 
a  triple  fosse  and  vallum  of  irregular  outline,  following  the 
shape  of  the  hill.  This  camp  is  said  to  have  been  the  work 
of,  or  at  least  to  have  been  occupied  by,  the  British  chieftain 
Caratacos,  or,  as  he  is  generally  but  incorrectly  described, 
Caractacus.  This  chieftain's  name  is,  however,  more  closely 
associated  with  another  camp  situated  on  the  top  of  the  hill 
called  Caer  Caradoc,  which  is  situated  near  Church  Stretton 
in  Shropshire,  and  at  the  foot  of  which  tradition  places  the 
site  of  the  decisive  battle  between  Caratacos  and  Ostorius 
Scapula.  The  ditches  in  this  case  are  quite  shallow,  no 
doubt  because  the  exceeding  steepness  of  the  hill  rendered 
more  formidable  earthworks  unnecessary. 

It  has  been  already  mentioned  that  sometimes  pit- 
dwellings  are  found  within  ramparts  of  a  similar  character, 
as,  for  instance,  on  the  top  of  Chalbury  Hill,  familiar  to 
visitors  to  Weymouth.  In  their  neighbourhood  are  also 
sometimes  found  remains  of  the  terrace  or  "  lynchet  "  form 
of  cultivation. 

In  the  West  of  England,  on  Dartmoor  and  Exmoor,  have 
been  found  a  few  bridges  which  have  been  assigned  to  this 
period.     One  of  the  finest  of  these  is  known  as  Tarr  or  Torr 


96  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

Steps,  and  crosses  the  River  Barle,  not  far  from  Winsford  on 
Exmoor.  It  is  composed  of  a  number  of  solid,  though 
short  piers  built  up  of  stones,  laid  on  the  top  of  one  another 
without  any  cement  or  mortar.  Large  fiat  slabs  of  stone, 
stretching  from  one  pier  to  the  next,  form  the  pathway,  a 
pathway  which  is  submerged  when  the  river  is  in  flood,  but 
which  at  other  times  affords  an  excellent  passage  for  those 
on  foot,  a  ford  just  above  serving  for  the  crossing  of  horses. 

But  the  most  striking  stone  erections  of  this  period  are 
the  great  circles,  of  which  Stonehenge  is  the  best-known 
example. 

This  great,  though  ruinous  temple,  for  temple  it  seems 
certainly  to  have  been,  has  been  assigned  by  some  to  a 
Roman  or  even  post-Roman  date,  but  the  general  consensus 
of  opinion  amongst  archaeologists  is  that  it  is  a  work  of  the 
Bronze  period,  though  of  a  late  date,  as  seems  to  be  proved 
by  the  fact  that  it  is  the  only  circle  of  the  kind  in  which  the 
stones  have  been  hewn  and  shaped,  all  the  others  being 
composed  of  rough  and  unworked  boulders.  ]\Ir.  Arthur 
Evans  thinks  that  the  construction  was  in  part  at  least  of  a 
gradual  character,  and  that  its  foundation  belongs  to  the 
same  age  as  the  latest  class  of  the  round-barrows  by  which 
it  was  surrounded — a  class  of  barrows  which  it  would  not 
be  safe  to  bring  down  beyond  the  approximate  date  of 
250  R.c.  On  the  other  hand,  he  says,  if  we  are  to  accept 
the  view  that  the  construction  itself  was  gradual  and  that, 
in  particular,  the  blue  stones  were  set  up  in  groups  at 
intervals  of  time,  we  may  carry  down  some  parts  of  the 
monument  to  a  considerably  later  date. 

The  collection  of  stones  which  forms  this  monument  is 
surrounded  by  a  low  bank  and  ditch,  enclosing  a  circle 
100  feet  in  diameter,  a  measurement  which  is  common  to 
several  of  these  temples,  to  which  the  general  term  of  100 
feet  circles  has  been  applied. 

Within    this   circle,  now  almost   obliterated,  are    a  few 


THE    BRONZE    PERIOD 


97 


,,^s^*w«#«iH(%t/i4 


Fig.  35.  — General  Plan  of  Stonehenge.  A,  Stone  circles  in  centre 
of  circular  earthen  bank  and  ditch  ;  B,  Standing  stone,  called 
"The  Friar's  Heel";  C,  Large  fallen  stone;  D,  D,  Two 
smaller  stones  on  margin  of  earthen  bank ;  E,  E,  Barrows, 
which,  being  absorbed  in  the  earthen  bank,  appear  to  have 
been  of  earlier  construction  than  the  bank.  (From  Murray's 
"  Handbook  to  Wiltshire.") 


98  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

upright  stones  with  many  others  in  a  more  or  less  recumbent 
position,  indeed  such  is  their  confusion,  that  it  is  difficult 
even  for  experts  to  arrive  at  any  certain  conclusion  as  to  all 
the  details  of  the  perfect  temple.  Under  these  circum- 
stances it  will  be  better  to  consider  Stonehenge  as  it  probably 


Fig.  36. — Conjectural  Restoration  of  .Stonehenge.  A,  Small 
Syenite  trilithon,  which  may  have  stood  here  ;  it  now  lies  as  at 
A  in  Fig.  38. 


was  when  complete  and  uninjured,  and  to  indicate  as  we  go 
on  such  parts  of  the  structure  as  are  still  recognisable.  The 
outer  circle  of  stones,  the  nearest  in  position  to  the  ditch, 
consisted  of  thirty  upright  pillars,  each  16  feet  in  height, 
with  imposts  or  square  masses  of  stone  passing  from  one  to 
the  next,  so  as  to  form  a  continuous  ring.  Each  upright 
was  3i  feet  distant  from  its  neighbour  on  either  side,  and 
eaeh  had  on  its  upper  end  two  projections,  or  tcnon.s,  each  of 


THE   BRONZE   PERIOD 


99 


which  fitted  into  a  corresponding  hole  or  mortice  on  the 
under  surface  of  one  of  the  imposts.  It  is  obvious  that 
much  greater  security  was  thus  attained  than  if  the  imposts 


Fig.  37. — Trilithons  and  other  Stones  at  Stonehenge.  Notice  the 
projections  on  the  top  of  the  large  upright  stones,  which  fit 
into  corresponding  depressions  on  the  under  surfaces  of  the 
imposts.     (From  Barclay's  "Stonehenge.") 


had  merely  been  laid  upon  the  uprights.  It  is  perhaps 
unnecessary  to  state  that  no  mortar  or  cement  Avas  used  in 
any  of  the  stone  structures  of  the  period. 

The  stones  of  this  circle  are  all  of  local  origin,  being  the 
sarsens  or  grey-wethers  of  Marlborough    Down.      Of   this 


100  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

circle,  sixteen  uprights  and  six  imposts  still  remain  in 
position.  About  nine  feet  nearer  to  the  centre  was  the  second 
circle,  which  consisted  of  unhewn  pillars,  probably  more 
than  thirty  in  number,  of  syenite,  an  igneous  rock,  which 
must  have  been  brought  from  a  considerable  distance,  as 
none  is  known  to  exist  nearer  than  Wales.  These,  and 
the  others  of  a  similar  character,  are  known  as  the  blue 
stones. 

Each  of  these  stones  is  about  six  feet  in  height,  and 
there  are  now  only  seven  of  them  left.  Within  this  circle, 
which  deprived  of  its  adjuncts  would  not  in  any  way  differ 
from  similar  simple  circles  in  Wales  and  elsewhere,  was  the 
most  striking  part  of  the  monument,  an  ellipse  consisting  of 
at  least  five  and  probably  seven  great  trilithons.  Each  of 
these  is  composed  of  two  hewn  pillars  with  an  impost,  and 
they  gradually  increased  in  height  to  the  central  trilithon, 
which  is  twenty-five  feet  in  height.  Of  these  trilithons,  two 
remain  perfect  and  in  situ,  there  are  two  other  uprights 
standing,  but  without  imposts,  and  portions  of  the  others 
are  lying  on  the  ground.  These  stones  are  similar  to  those 
of  the  outer  circle,  and  no  doubt  derived  from  the  same 
place.  Within  the  ellipse  of  trilithons  is  an  ellipse  of  nineteen 
pillars  of  syenite,  the  material  being  the  same  as  that  of  the 
stones  which  form  the  inner  circle,  of  which  seven  are 
still  in  place.  Finally,  in  the  centre  of  all  is  a  block, 
called,  for  no  valid  reason,  the  altar-stone,  which  was  very 
probably  always  recumbent.  It  is  of  a  fine  micaceous  sand- 
stone, and  differs  in  character  from  all  the  other  stones  of 
which  the  monument  is  composed. 

Thus  to  summarise  ;  Stonehenge  consisted  of: — 

(i)  A  shallow  ditch  and  bank,  which  opens  out  at  one 
doint  into  an  avenue  tianked  by  a  ditch  and  bank 
on  either  side. 

(2)  A  ring  of  hewn  local  stones,  with  imposts  mortised 
to  them. 


THE    BRONZE   PERIOD 


^  2 


rr>  HH 


102  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

(3)  A  ring  of  unhewn,  non-local,  igneous  pillars. 

(4)  An  ellipse  of  local,  hewn  trilithons,  with  mortice  and 

tenon  connection. 

(5)  An  ellipse  of  unhewn,  non-local,  igneous  pillars. 

(6)  A  single  recumbent   rock  of  different  character  from 

the  rest. 
It  is  certainly  surprising  that  so  little  is  said  in  the  works 
of  early  writers  about  a  monument  which  would,  one  would 
have  supposed,  have  excited  the  wonder  of  all  who  might 
see  it.  It  is  possible  that  Hecat?eus,  a  geographer  who 
flourished  about  five  hundred  years  before  Christ,  may  have 
alluded  to  Stonehenge,  when  he  says  that  there  is  a  magni- 
ficent circular  temple  in  the  island  of  the  Hyperboreans, 
over  against  Celtica.  Giraldus  Cambrensis  gives  us  the 
mythical  tale  which  was  told  to  account  for  it  in  his  day  : 
"  There  was  in  Ireland,  in  ancient  times,  a  pile  of  stones 
worthy  of  admiration,  called  the  Giant's  Dance,  because 
giants,  from  the  remotest  part  of  Africa,  brought  them  into 
Ireland,  and  in  the  plains  of  Kildare,  not  far  from  the 
Castle  of  Naas,  as  well  by  force  of  art  as  strength,  miracu- 
lously set  them  up ;  and  similar  stones,  erected  in  a  like 
manner,  are  to  be  seen  there  at  this  day.  These  stones 
(according  to  the  British  history)  Aurelius  Ambrosius,  king 
of  the  Britons,  procured  Merlin,  by  supernatural  means, 
to  bring  from  Ireland  into  Britain.  And  that  he  might  leave 
some  famous  monument  of  so  great  a  treason  to  future 
ages,  in  the  same  order  and  art  as  they  stood  formerly,  set 
them  up  where  the  flower  of  the  British  nation  fell  by  the 
cut-throat  practice  of  the  Saxons,  and  where,  under  the 
pretence  of  peace,  the  ill-secured  youth  of  the  kingdom,  by 
murderous  designs,  were  slain."  As  regards  the  explana- 
tion of  these  monuments,  Mr.  Arthur  Evans  thinks  that  the 
component  parts  of  stone  circles  such  as  Stonehenge, 
namely,  the  circle  itself,  the  avenue  of  stones  which  lead  up 
to   it,   imperfect  at  Stonehenge,  though  better    marked  at 


THE    BRONZE    PERIOD 


103 


Avebury,  and  the  central  dolmen,  wanting  in  the  instance 
now  under  consideration,  are  all  of  them  amplification^  of 
the  simplest  sepulchral  forms.  The  circle  is  an  enlarged 
version  of  the  ring  of  stones  placed  round  the  grave  mound; 
the  dolmen  represents  the  cist  within  it ;  the  avenue  is 
merely  the  continuation  of  the  underground  gallery,  which 
in  the  early  barrows,  described  in  a  previous  chapter,  leads 
to  the  sepulchral  chamber.  The  trilithons  are  a  new 
feature  in  connection  with  the  stone  circle,   but,  as  shown 


FiG_  39._Trililhons  in  Tripoli.     (From  Dr.  Earth's  "Travels.' 


by  the  example  of  some  of  our  later  long  barrows,  and  by  a 
comparison  with  the  monuments  of  Tripoli,  of  Syria,  of 
India  and  elsewhere,  are  themselves  only  the  perpetuation 
of  a  part  of  the  sepulchral  structure,  the  actual  gateway  of 
the  subterranean  chamber,  which  remains  as  a  ritual  survival 
when,  owing  to  cremation  or  other  causes,  the  galleried 
chamber  to  which  it  led  has  itself  been  modified  away. 
Like  the  circles  themselves,  and  like  the  avenue,  the 
trilithon  is  of  sepulchral  origin,  and  connects  itself  directly 
with  the  worship  of   departed  spirits.     Finally,  he  thinks 


104  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

that  the  original  holy  object  within  the  central  trilithons  of 
Stonehenge  was  a  sacred  tree,  and  in  this  connection  he 
reminds  us  that  the  oak  was  of  special  sanctity  amongst  the 
Celtic  nations,  as  shown,  amongst  other  things,  by  the  words 
of  Maximus  Tyrius,  "  The  Celts  worship  Zeus,  and  the 
Celtic  image  of  Zeus  is  a  tall  oak."  Professor  Rhys  in  his 
"  Hibbert  Lectures "  replies  as  follows  to  the  question 
"  Whose  temple  Stonehenge  was,  or  whose  it  chiefly  was  ? 
After  giving  it  all  the  attention  I  can,  I  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  we  cannot  do  better  than  follow  the  story  of 
Geoffrey,  which  makes  Stonehenge  the  work  of  Merlin 
Emrys,  commanded  by  another  Emrys,  which  I  interpret  to 
mean  that  the  temple  belonged  to  the  Celtic  Zeus  whose 
later  legendary  self  we  have  in  Merlin." 

In  the  same  county  as  Stonehenge,  but  further  north,  is 
a  second  collection  of  great  stones,  now  unfortunately  even 
more  reduced  in  numbers,  which  in  the  time  of  Charles  II. 
was  described  by  Aubrey  as  surpassing  Stonehenge  as  much 
as  a  cathedral  did  a  parish  church.  This  monument 
is  Avebury  or  Abury,  and  the  village  of  that  name  which 
now  lies  within  the  ditch  has  been  the  destruction  of  the 
temple,  whose  stones  have  been  used  up  for  building  and 
even  for  road-mending  purposes,  more  than  650  having 
thus  perished.  The  temple  was  surrounded  by  a  rampart 
and  fosse,  the  latter  being  internal  and  not  external  as  in 
the  case  of  fortifications.  This  rampart  and  fosse  form 
nearly  a  circle,  with  a  diameter  of  1200  ft.,  a  circumference 
of  4442  ft.,  and  enclosing  an  area  of  28^  acres.  From 
the  top  of  the  rampart  to  the  bottom  of  the  fosse  is  a  depth 
of  40  ft. 

Inside  the  ditch  was  a  circle  of  rough  stones  supposed  to 
have  been  100  in  number,  and  this  again  enclosed  two 
neighbouring,  not  concentric,  circles,  each  again  containing 
a  smaller  circle  and  a  group  of  stones  forming  what  is 
called  a  cove.     These,  it  seems  probable,  originally  contained 


THE   BRONZE    PERIOD 


105 


Fig.  40. — Conjectural  Restoration  of  Avebury.  Silbury  Hill  is 
seen  in  the  distance.  The  circles  of  stones  were  much  less 
regular  than  is  above  shown,  and  there  is  no  evidence  for 
Stukeley's  Beckhampton  Avenue.  (From  Murray's  "  Hand- 
book to  Wiltshire.") 


«^ 


Fig.  41. — Plan  of  Avebury  and  surrounding  country.  A,  The 
Kennet  Avenue  of  stones  leading  to  Overton  Circle,  O  ; 
B,  Stukeley's  supposed  avenue  to  Beckhampton  ;  c,  c,  Roman 
Road  ;  d,  d,  British  trackway  ;  e,  Beckhampton  ;  g,  West 
Kennett  Long  Barrow  ;  h,  East  Kennett  Long  Barrow. 
(From  Murray's  "  Handbook  to  Wiltshire.") 


io6  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

interments.  An  avenue  of  stones,  of  which  fifteen  still 
remain,  led  S.W.  to  West  Kennet,  and  according  to 
Stukeley,  though  it  is  more  than  doubtful  whether  he  had 
any  valid  reason  for  making  the  assertion,  there  was  a 
second  avenue  leading  to  Beckhampton  in  the  opposite 
direction.  The  size  of  some  of  the  stones  forming  this 
monument  is  immense  ;  one  destroyed  in  recent  years 
weighed  ninety  tons,  and  another  still  remaining  is  esti- 
mated to  weigh  sixty.  It  may  well  cause  wonder  as  to  how 
these  huge  stones  were  transported  to  this  spot  and  reared 
up  on  end  in  the  cavities  prepared  for  them,  especially  by  a 
people  possessed  of  only  the  rudest  mechanical  appliances 
to  assist  them  in  their  task.  Perhaps  we  may  obtain  a  clue 
as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  stones  were  moved  by  look- 
ing at  the  pictures  of  the  transport  of  the  huge  stone 
figures  of  Egypt,  as  represented  on  some  of  the  buildings 
of  that  country.  In  the  representation  of  the  colossal 
statue  of  Thothotpu  being  dragged  to  its  place,  we  see  the 
figure  itself  on  a  sort  of  flat  wheelless  sled  to  which 
numbers  of  slaves  are  attached  by  cords.  The  captain 
stands  on  the  knees  of  the  statue  to  urge  on  those  who  are 
dragging  it,  and  an  attendant  on  the  pedestal  pours  water 
on  the  ropes,  lest  their  tension  should  cause  them  to  take 
fire.  But  we  have  a  further  example  of  how  the  work  of 
shaping  and  carrying  these  huge  stones  may  have  been 
effected,  by  the  way  in  which  it  is  carried  out  by  the 
Khasis,  a  tribe  of  Northern  Bengal,  who  break  and  flake 
their  blocks  by  heating  them  along  the  re(iuired  line  of 
fracture  and  then  pouring  water  upon  them.  They  trans- 
port them  by  placing  wooden  rollers  underneath  and  then 
harnessing  numbers  of  men  to  them  with  ropes  of  rattan. 
Wlien  it  is  necessary  to  set  a  block  upright,  one  end  is 
slipped  into  a  hole  some  feet  in  depth,  whilst  the  other  is 
pulled  upon  by  the  ropes.  And  finally,  when  it  is  desired 
to  lift  one  block  into  position  on  the  top  of  others,  a  slope 


THE   BRONZE    PERIOD  107 

of  earth  is  constructed  leading  up  to  the  desired  altitude 
and  then  the  impost  is  pulled  up  the  slope  upon  rollers. 
Obviously  it  is  possible  that  huge  masses  can  be  trans- 
ported even  with  rude  means,  all  that  is  necessary  being  a 
sufifiiciency  of  men  and  of  enthusiasm.  There  must  have 
been  no  lack  of  either  at  the  building  of  Avebury.  Before 
passing  to  the  consideration  of  any  other  stone  circle,  it 
may  be  well  to  mention  that  remarkable  conical  earthwork 
close  by,  called  Silbury  Hill.  This  mound,  the  largest 
artificial  earthwork  of  its  kind  in  England  and  probably  in 
Europe,  covers  with  its  base  over  five  acres  of  ground,  is 
1657  ft.  in  circumference  and  170  ft.  in  height.  It  was 
originally  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  sarsen  stones,  nearly 
all  of  which  have  disappeared.  Its  origin  and  date  are 
equally  doubtful ;  it  is  apparently  not  sepulchral,  at  least 
all  excavations  so  far  have  failed  to  find  any  remains,  and 
whether  it  has  any  relation  to  the  megalithic  circle  at  Ave- 
bury is  a  question  which  may  perhaps  never  be  cleared  up. 
Its  gigantic  size  and  the  labour  which  its  construction  must 
have  cost  afford  another  example  of  the  energy  and 
engineering  skill  of  the  period. 

Another  interesting  monument  of  this  class  is  that  called 
the  RoUright  stones,  most  of  which  are  in  Oxfordshire, 
though  only  just  in  that  county.  The  boundary  between 
that  county  and  Warwickshire  is  formed  by  an  ancient  road 
which  passes  between  the  circle  and  dolmen  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  menhir  on  the  other.  This  circle  is  one  of 
the  hundred  feet  variety,  but  the  stones  of  which  it  is 
composed  are  insignificant  in  size,  the  tallest  being  7  ft. 
and  most  of  them  ranging  between  2  ft.  and  4  ft.  The 
circle  is  locally  called  the  King's  Men.  Not  far  off  is  a 
group  of  stones  called  the  Whispering  Knights,  which 
consists  of  the  remains  of  a  collapsed  dolmen.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  road,  and  near  a  long  artificial  mound  of 
earth,  of  uncertain  nature,  which  the  imaginative  Stukeley 


io8  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

called  the  Arch-Druid's  barrow,  is  a  single  standing  stone^  or 
menhir,  named  the  King's  Stone.  The  legend  which  is 
related  about  these  stones  may  be  cited  as  a  good  example 
of  the  kind  of  story  which  grows  up  around  such  relics. 
The  king  is  said  to  have  set  out  with  his  men  to  conquer 
England.  Arrived  at  the  top  of  the  hill  where  the  stones 
stand  he  meets  a  witch  who  says  : 

"  If  Long  Compton  thou  canst  see 
King  of  England  thou  shalt  be." 

Long  Compton,  it  should  be  said,  is  a  village  in  the  valley 
north  of  the  stones  and  just  invisible  from  them.  The  king, 
delighted  at  what  he  supposes  will  be  the  triumphant  issue 
of  his  expedition,  exclaims  : 

"  Stick,  stock,  stone, 
As  King  of  England  I  shall  be  known." 

As  he  speaks  the  mound  of  earth  near  the  menhir  rises  up 
before  him  and  prevents  him  from  seeing  the  village,  whilst 
the  witch  exclaims  : 

"  As  Long  Compton  thou  canst  not  see 
King  of  England  thou  shalt  not  be. 
Rise  up  stick,  and  stand  still  stone, 
For  King  of  England  thou  shalt  be  none. 
For  thou  and  thy  men  hoar  stones  shall  be, 
And  I  myself  an  eldern  tree." 

Thereupon  they  all  turn,  the  witch  into  an  alder  tree,  the 
rest  into  stones,  the  menhir  being  the  king,  the  circle  his 
army  and  the  dolmen  his  officers,  either  engaged  at  the  time 
of  their  transmutation  in  prayer  or  in  plotting  against  their 
leader,  according  to  different  versions  of  the  story.  Further 
traditions  attach  to  these  stones,  in  common  with  others  of 
the  same  character  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  such  as 
that  it  is  impossible  to  count  them  correctly,  that  they  arise  at 
midnight  to  dance  with  one  another  and  the  like  ;  but  the 
point  of  greatest  interest,  perhaps,  is  related  to  their  name. 


THE    BRONZE    PERIOD 


log 


which  appears,  according  to  Mr.  Arthur  Evans,  to  have  been 
properly  RoUendrice,  and  to  have  meant  the  kingdom  or 
dominion  of  Roland.     Thus  the  group    of  stones   whose 


( 
f    ^ 


^  ^\  A 


Fig.  42. — Menhir,  the  "  King  Stone,"  at  Rollright. 


original  name  and  signification  had  long  been  forgotten,  was 
in  later  ages  associated  with  the  name  and  fame  of  Roland, 
the  legendary  champion  of  Christendom  against  the  paynim. 
In  connection  with  this  group  of  stones  mention  has  been 
made  of  a  menhir,  and  it  may  now  be  well  to  say  something 


no  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

about  this  kind  of  monument.  The  menhir  derives  its 
name  from  two  Celtic  words  meaning  a  standing  stone,  and 
is  the  simplest  and  most  obvious  form  of  memorial  or 
monument  which  can  be  imagined.  This  being  so,  one  is 
not  surprised  to  find  that  it  is  not  specially  associated  with 
any  age  or  with  any  country,  indeed  Cleopatra's  needle  and 
many  of  the  memorials  in  our  own  towns  and  cemeteries  are 
nothing  more  than  glorified  menhirion.  But  using  the  term 
as  it  is  employed  in  British  archaeology  it  is  limited  to 
single,  unhewn,  standing  stones,  probably  belonging  chiefly 
to  the  Bronze,  but  certainly  also  to  the  Neolithic  period. 
These  stones  are  very  variable  in  shape,  being  sometimes 
long  and  comparatively  narrow,  like  the  great  menhir  of 
Carnac  and  others,  sometimes  larger  at  the  upper  part,  like 
the  Kingstone  at  RoUrightj  sometimes  wide  flat  slabs,  like 
the  great  Clun  menhir  in  Shropshire,  which  is  8  ft.  in 
height,  6  ft.  6  in.  in  breadth  and  8  in.  to  12  in.  in  thickness. 
Sometimes  they  appear  to  have  been  erected  on  the  summits 
of  barrows,  sometimes,  as  we  have  already  seen,  they  formed 
a  ring  round  their  base.  Mr.  Stevens  points  out  that  such 
monoliths  are  associated  also  with  long  barrows  and  with 
ancient  grave  mounds  in  other  countries.  He  says  :  "  In 
the  chambered  tumulus  at  Ablington,  Gloucestershire,  there 
was  found  a  large  upright  oval  stone,  6  ft.  in  height  and 
5  ft.  in  width,  standing  on  a  block  of  stone  having  a  natural 
perforation  and  by  which  it  was  steadied  and  kept  in  its 
place.  Upon  a  long  barrow  at  Duntesbourne  Abbots, 
Gloucestershire,  is  a  monolith  known  as  the  '  Hoar  Stone,' 
and  upon  another  long  barrow  in  the  same  county  is  a 
monolith  known  as  the  'Tingle  Stone.'  The  ancient 
Greeks,  in  like  manner,  appear  to  have  placed  a  monolith 
{(TTi]\r])  upon  the  summit  of  some  of  their  tumuli,  and 
Paris,  taking  his  position  behind  such  a  pillar  on  the 
barrow  of  Ilus,  shot  at  Diomede,  wounding  him  in  the  foot." 
Such   stones    have   been   in    other   countries    not    merely 


THE    BRONZE    PERIOD  in 

memorials  of  some  great  deed  or  departed  hero,  but  objects 
of  worship,  and  the  same  was  probably  the  case  in  this 
country.  Indeed  Mr.  Gomme  calls  attention  to  a  curious 
custom  in  connection  with  such  a  stone,  which  looks  like 
the  degenerated  remains  of  a  real  act  of  sacrifice  offered  to 
a  menhir.  "  At  the  village  of  Holne,  situated  on  one  of 
the  spurs  of  Dartmoor,  is  a  field  of  about  two  acres,  the 
property  of  the  parish,  and  called  the  Ploy  Field.  In  the 
centre  of  this  field  stands  a  granite  pillar  (menhir)  6  ft.  or  7  ft. 
high.  On  May  morning,  before  daybreak,  the  young  men 
of  the  village  used  to  assemble  there  and  then  proceed  to 
the  moor,  where  they  selected  a  ram  lamb,  and  after  running 
it  down  brought  it  in  triumph  to  the  Ploy  Field,  fastened  it 
to  the  pillar,  cut  its  throat,  and  then  roasted  it  whole,  skin, 
wool,  &c.  At  mid-day  a  struggle  took  place,  at  the  risk  of 
cut  hands,  for  a  slice  ;  it  being  supposed  to  confer  luck  for 
the  ensuing  year  on  the  fortunate  devourer.  As  an  act  of 
gallantry  the  young  men  sometimes  fought  their  way  through 
the  crowd  to  get  a  slice  for  the  chosen  amongst  the  young 
women,  all  of  whom,  in  their  best  dresses,  attended  the 
Ram  Feast  as  it  was  called.  Dancing,  wrestling,  and  other 
games,  assisted  by  copious  libations  of  cider  during  the 
afternoon,  prolonged  the  festivity  till  midnight." 

The  places  of  interment  of  this  race,  like  those  of  the 
people  who  preceded  it,  are  marked  by  mounds  or  barrows, 
which  are,  however,  smaller,  nearly  always  circular,  and  in 
this  country  devoid  of  the  passage  and  chambers  which 
formed  a  feature  of  the  long  barrow. 

The  shape  of  these  barrows  on  elevation  is  sometimes 
like  a  bowl,  more  rarely  like  a  disc  or  even  a  bell.  In 
some  of  them  the  remains  of  the  dead  are  buried  in  the 
same  crouched  up  position  as  they  occupy  in  the  long 
barrows,  in  others  there  is  an  urn  containing  the  ashes 
which  have  resulted  from  the  cremation  of  the  corpse,  and 
in   both  cases  there  may  be  found  implements  of  different 


112  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

kinds  laid  beside  the  remains.  These  two  systems  of  burial 
have  undoubtedly  been  pursued  simultaneously,  and  may 
perhaps  mark  a  divergence  in  religious  ideas  between  the 
two  sections  of  the  Celts.  It  is  at  least  possible  that  the 
Goidelic  branch  may  have  conformed  to  the  funeral  customs 
of  the  Neolithic  race,  whilst  the  Brythonic  people,  perhaps 
from  veneration  for  the  sun,  perhaps  from  the  idea  of  puri- 
fying the  body,  may  have  resorted  to  the  practice  of  crema- 
tion.    However  this  may  be,  it  is  interesting  to  find  that 


Fig.   43. —Round   Rarrows  near  Stonehenge.     (.After  a  plate  in 
Barclay's  "Stonehenge.") 


sometimes  both  kinds  of  interment  have  been  met  with  in 
the  same  barrow,  one  being  secondary  to  the  other.  In 
these  cases  the  earlier  burial  is  usually  that  of  the  unburnt 
body,  the  secondary  being  that  of  the  cremated,  but  this  is 
not  an  invariable  rule.  So  far  as  it  goes  this  evidence  also 
points  in  the  direction  above  mentioned  that  the  earlier 
Goidelic  race  was  that  which  practi-sed  inhumation.  There 
are  great  numbers  of  these  round  barrows  scattered  over  the 
country,  and  in  some  parts  of  it  many  may  be  seen  close 
together.     .Around  Stonehenge,  for  example,  there  are  about 


THE   BRONZE    PERIOD  113 

three  hundred  within  a  circuit  of  three  miles.  There 
ore  a  number  of  others  in  the  vicinity  of  Avebury,  and  in 
one  spot  on  the  road  between  Weymouth  and  Bridport 
twenty  can  be  seen  at  once,  a  spot,  says  Stukeley,  "t"or 
sight  of  barrows  not  to  be  equalled  in  the  world."  In 
certain  places  they,  as  well  as  other  mounds  of  earth, 
artificial  and  natural,  have  been  supposed  to  be  the  homes 
of  fairies,  and  names  such  as  the  Fairy  Know  or  Fairy  Hill 
applied  to  them.  In  one  instance  such  a  mound  affords 
what  seems  to  be  an  example  of  the  extraordinary  persist- 
ence and  endurance  of  a  tradition.  Near  the  town  of  Mold 
there  was  a  cairn  called  Bryn-yr-Ellyllon,  the  hill  of  the  fairy 
or  of  the  goblin,  which  was  long  said  to  be  haunted  by  a 
ghost  in  golden  armour,  who  was  seen  to  enter  it  from  time 
to  time.  When  the  tomb  was  opened  there  was  found 
within  it  the  skeleton  of  what  had  been  a  fine  tall  man 
with  a  corselet  of  bronze  overlaid  by  gold,  of  Etruscan  work, 
says  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins,  and  probably  belonging  to 
the  Romano-British  period.  Unless  we  are  to  believe  that 
the  ghost  really  did  walk,  we  must  admit  that  the  tradition 
had  been  handed  down  of  this  warrior's  burial  in  his  armour 
for  perhaps  fourteen  hundred  years. 

The  religion  of  the  Celts,  both  Brythons  and  Goidels,  was 
polytheistic,  and  the  names  of  some  of  their  gods  and  minor 
deities  have  come  down  to  us.  Of  these  the  principal  Bry- 
thonic  deity  seems  to  have  been  Teutates,  the  god  of  war,  in 
whose  honour  the  stone  inscribed  "  Marti  Toutati "  found 
in  Hertfordshire  was  probably  erected.  In  this  country, 
Teutates  seems  perhaps  more  often  to  have  been  spoken 
of  under  the  name  of  Camulus,  a  name  which  enters  into 
the  formation  of  the  word  Camulodunum,  the  title  of  the 
city  which  preceded  the  modern  Colchester. 

Taranis, another  deity,  seems  to  have  been  the  summer- god, 
and  Nodens,  the  god  of  the  sea,  had  a  temple  at  Lydney  on 
the  Severn  even  in  the  Roman  times.    Among  the  Goidels  the 

H 


114  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

Irish  Boann,  a  minor  goddess,  the  deity  of  the  13o)ne  in 
Ireland,  is  an  example  of  the  personification  of  rivers  under 
the  guise  of  minor  deities,  another  instance  of  which  in 
Britain  is  Sabrina,  the  goddess  of  the  Severn, 

"  Sabrina  fair, 

Listen  where  thou  art  sitting 
Under  the  glassy,  cool,  translucent  wave, 

In  twisted  braids  of  liUes  knitting 
The  loose  train  of  thy  amber-dropping  hair," 

as  Milton  wrote  in  '''Comus."  Other  minor  deities  figure  in 
our  stories  of  to-day  as  giants.  Thus  Rabelais  took  his 
name  of  Gargantua  from  such  a  half-deity,  half-hero.  A 
dolmen  in  France  is  shown  to  this  day  as  his  tomb. 
Goemagot,  another  similar  personage,  becomes  Gogmagog, 
the  name  of  a  range  of  what  pass  for  hills  in  Cambridge- 
shire, and  of  the  well-known  giants  of  the  Mansion  House. 

The  Celt,  however,  of  both  families,  seems  to  have  in 
some  measure  adopted  the  Druidism  of  the  Neolithic 
peoples  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  on  reaching  the 
island.  In  so  doing  he  only  conformed  to  what  seems 
to  have  been  almost  a  general  rule  where  an  Aryan  and  a 
non-Aryan  race  have  come  in  contact,  as  Mr.  Tylor  and 
Mr.  Gomme  have  pointed  out.  Such  is  the  case  in 
Scandinavia,  where  the  Lapp  is  looked  upon  as  being  a  very 
superior  magician  to  the  later  occupants  of  the  land,  and  in 
India,  where  tlie  non- Aryan  races,  despised  and  harried 
though  they  may  be  during  the  rest  of  the  year  by  their 
Aryan  neighbours,  are  yet  brought  into  the  villages  of  the 
latter  on  solemn  occasions  to  perform  the  religious  cere- 
monies which  are  supposed  to  be  more  effectively  performed 
by  them  than  by  any  other.  A  curious  instance  of  this 
is  given  by  Walhouse,  which  may  be  cited,  as  showing  the 
kind  of  thing  which  may  perhaps  have  happened  in  this 
country  centuries  ago.  "  The  Kurumbas  of  Nulli,  one  of 
the  wildest  Nilgherry  declivities,  come  up  annually  to  wor- 


THE    BRONZE    PERIOD  115 

ship  at  one  of  the  dolmens  on  the  tableland  above,  in  wliich 
they  say  one  of  their  old  gods  resides.  Though  they  are  re- 
garded with  fear  and  hatred  as  sorcerers  by  the  agricultural 
Badagas  of  the  tableland,  one  of  them  must,  nevertheless, 
at  sowing-time,  be  called  to  guide  the  first  plough  for  two  or 
three  yards,  and  go  through  a  mystic  pantomime  of  propi- 
tiation to  the  earth  deity,  without  which  the  crop  would 
certainly  fail.  When  so  summoned,  the  Kurumba  must 
pass  the  night  by  the  dolmens  alone,  and  I  have  seen  one 
who  had  been  called  from  his  present  dwelling  for  the 
morning  ceremony,  sitting  after  dark  on  the  capstone  of 
a  dolmen,  with  heels  and  hams  drawn  together  and  chin  on 
knees,  looking  like  some  huge  ghostly  fowl  perched  on  the 
mysterious  stone."  It  is  probable  that  the  later  coming 
Aryans,  here  and  elsewhere^  might  have  considered  the 
inhabitants  whom  they  found  on  their  arrival  as  somewhat 
uncanny,  and,  again,  it  is  highly  probable  that  they 
reasoned  that  their  priests,  the  Druids,  having  been  longer 
in  occupation,  were  better  able  to  approach  the  local 
divinities  with  hope  of  success  than  those  who  were  strangers 
in  the  land. 

There  is  a  statement  by  Pliny  that  the  wives  and 
daughters-in-law  of  the  Britons  attended  certain  religious 
rites  without  clothing  and  with  their  bodies  painted  black 
like  Ethiopians.  To  which  race  this  statement  applies  is 
more  than  doubtful,  but  it  is  possible,  if  Mr.  Hartland's 
surmise  is  correct,  that  we  have  a  trace  of  this  rite  in  the 
processions  which  took  place  in  Coventry  and  Southam  in 
honour  of  Lady  Godiva.  Though  Godgifu,  or  Godiva,  was 
an  historical  personage,  her  celebrated  ride  is  purely  mythicai, 
a  good  example,  indeed,  of  the  kind  of  myth  which,  without 
any  reason,  often  becomes  attached  to  some  hero  or  heroine. 
The  essence  of  the  tale  consists  in  the  passage  of  a  naked 
woman  through  a  town  where  the  men  were  not  allowed  to 
look   out    upon  her,  and  such  a  story  is  not  peculiar   to 


ii6  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

England,  as  readers  of  the  "  Arabian  Nights  "  will  remember. 
Now,  we  know  that  in  Rome  the  religious  rites  of  the  deity 
known  as  the  Bona  Dea  were  performed  by  women  alone 
and  that  men  were  forbidden  under  the  severest  penalties  to 
intrude  upon  them.  It  is  highly  probable  that  the  rite  of 
which  Pliny  speaks  may  have  been  of  a  similar  character,  and 
that  it  may  gradually,  in  the  manner  which  has  been  already 
pointed  out,  have  dwindled  down  and  lost  all  its  original 
significance.  The  probability  that  this  view  is  correct  is 
much  increased  by  the  fact  that  in  the  procession  of  Southam, 
no  very  great  distance  from  Coventry,  there  were  two 
Godivas,  one  of  whom  was  of  the  natural  colour,  but  the 
other  was  black,  and  formed,  perhaps,  the  last  link  in 
the  chain  stretching  back  to  the  woad-paintcd  British 
matron  of  Pliny. 

It  now  only  remains  to  speak  of  the  physical  character- 
istics of  the  Celts.  They  were  a  tall  race,  indeed  their  average 
stature  of  5  feet  9  inches,  as  ascertained  by  measurements  of 
the  long  bones  of  their  skeletons,  exceeded  the  average  of  the 
present  inhabitants  of  the  island.  They  were  a  longer-lived 
race  than  that  which  they  succeeded,  if  we  are  to  trust  Dr. 
'I'hurnam's  computation,  that  the  average  of  the  Celt  was  fifty- 
five  and  of  the  Neolith  forty-five  years.  Their  skulls  were 
rounder  and  broader  than  those  of  the  previous  race,  or,  to  use 
the  language  of  physical  anthropology,  the  Celt  was  brachy- 
cephalic,  or  round-headed,  the  Ivernian,  dolichocephalic,  or 
long-headed,  only  in  the  physical  sense  of  course.  The 
skull  was  also  of  large  size,  with  a  well-formed  and  broad 
brow  and  salient  ridges  above  the  eyes,  and  with  prominent 
cheek-bones. 

The  stature  of  the  Celts  seems  to  have  made  a  great 
impression  upon  those  with  whom  they  were  brought  in 
contact,  for  Caesar  alludes  to  their  inirifica  corpora,  whilst 
Strabo,  speaking  of  some  of  the  Coritavi,  a  tribe  who 
inhabited  Lincolnshire,  says,  "  To  show  how  tall  they  were,  I 


THE   BRONZE    PERIOD  117 

saw  myself  some  of  their  young  men  at  Rome,  and  they 
were  taller  by  six  inches  than  any  one  else  in  the  city." 
Many  contemporary  references  also  leave  little  doubt  that 
the  Celt  belonged  to  a  fair  or  red-haired  race.  Lucan 
calls  the  Britons  flavi,  Silius  ItaUcus  says  their  hair  was 
golden,  and  Vitruvius,  in  a  passage  supposed  to  allude  to 
them,  speaks  of  their  huge  limbs,  their  grey  eyes,  and  their 
long,  straight  red  hair.  In  his  perhaps  partly  fanciful  de- 
scription of  Boudicca  or  Boadicea,  the  queen  of  the  Iceni, 
Dion  Cassius  speaks  of  her  greatness  of  stature,  of  the 
fierceness  of  her  appearance,  which  struck  all  beholders  with 
awe,  and  of  the  severe  and  piercing  expression  of  her 
countenance.  She  had,  he  adds,  a  harsh  voice,  and  a  pro- 
fusion of  dark,  ruddy  hair  which  reached  down  to  her  hips. 
The  life  of  the  tall,  fair-haired,  round-headed  occupant  of  this 
land  during  the  Bronze  period  has  been  sufficiently  dealt 
with  in  this  and  the  preceding  chapter  to  render  unneces- 
sary any  prolonged  summary  of  the  conditions  under  which 
he  existed.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  point  out  that  he  entered 
the  island  possessed  of  a  greater  amount  of  culture  than  that 
of  the  people  whom  he  found  in  occupation  of  the  land. 
Above  all  else  he  understood  the  art  of  working  in  metal,  a 
piece  of  knowledge  which  differed,  not  merely  in  degree 
but  in  kind,  from  any  possessed  by  previous  inhabitants  of 
the  land.  In  correspondence  with  his  wider  knowledge  and 
perhaps  also  with  his  greater  strength,  the  works  which  he 
undertook  were  of  a  more  ambitious  character  than  those  of 
his  predecessors,  and  included  huge  earthworks,  massive 
stone  monuments,  and  artificial  island  residences.  In  the 
arts  of  spinning  and  weaving  he  was  an  adept,  and  prided 
himself  so  much  upon  using  textile  clothing  instead  of  gar- 
ments fashioned  from  skins,  as  to  find  in  that  fact  the  most 
appropriate  name  for  his  race.  Such  was  the  inhabitant  of 
this  country  at  the  time  of  the  Roman  occupation,  and,  as 
will  be  seen,  or  indeed  has  already  been  seen,  from  the 


ii8  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

description  of  the  Glastonbury  lake  village,  he  lived  on  in 
the  land,  beside  his  conquerors,  in  his  own  villages.  And 
when  that  conqueror  was  obliged  to  desert  the  country 
which  he  had  occupied  for  four  hundred  years,  the  Celt 
remained  behind  in  possession  once  more  of  full  sovereignty 
over  the  land. 

Thus  we  shall  here  only  leave  him  for  a  time,  returning  to 
the  consideration  of  the  race  again,  after  dealing  with  the 
Romans  and  their  remains. 


CHAPTER   VI 
THE  ROMAN  OCCUPATION  OF  BRITAIN 

Condition  of  the  Country  —  Forests  —  "Wild  animals  — 
Trackways — Roman  roads — Camps — Cities — Silchester — 
Uriconium — Corinium. 

When  the  Romans  took  possession  of  this  country,  it  can 
only  have  been  their  insatiable  zeal  for  colonisation,  coupled 
perhaps  with  some  knowledge  of  the  mineral  riches  which  it 
afforded,  which  could  have  induced  them  to  take  so  much 
trouble  over  what  must  have  appeared  a  singularly  unin- 
viting spot.  For  such,  the  accounts  of  the  earlier  visitors, 
whose  opinions  remain  on  record,  declare  it  unanimously  to 
have  been.  They  speak  of  its  stormy  sky,  obscured  with 
constant  rain,  of  its  atmosphere  chilly  and  damp  even  in 
summer-time,  and  of  the  dense  fogs,  but  rarely  pierced  by  the 
rays  of  the  sun,  which  hung  over  it  like  a  pall.  The  im- 
mense forests,  with  which  the  land  was  covered,  condensed 
the  rain,  fallen  timber  choked  up  the  streams,  and  caused 
them  to  spread  their  waters  into  wide  marshes,  so  that  only 
the  higher  grounds  lifted  themselves  from  the  morasses  and 
woods. 

It  is  a  little  difficult  to  realise  how  great  a  portion  of 
the  surface  of  this  island  was  covered  with  forest  at  the 
time  we  are  speaking  of,  and  even  down  to  a  much  later 
period.  Nearly  the  whole  of  Warwickshire  was  covered  over 
by  the  Forest  of  Arden  {see  Map),  the  district  now  occupied 
by  Birmingham  and  the  adjacent  Black  Country  towns  being 


I20  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

then  a  dense  woodland,  penetrated  by  the  httle  stream  of 
the  Rea,  and  traversed  by  one  trackway,  the  Ryknield 
Street.  In  fact,  at  a  very  much  later  period,  it  was  said 
that  a  squirrel  could  leap  from  tree  to  tree  for  nearly  the 
whole  length  of  \\'arwickshire.  To-day  we  can  gather  some 
idea  of  its  limits  by  the  names  of  the  places  which  existed 
around  its  fringes,  like  Wooton  Wawen,  with  its  pre-Con- 
quest church,  on  its  southern  border,  and  Woodend  on  its 
northern.  North  of  Worcester,  the  Forest  of  Wyre,  which 
still  exists,  though  shorn  of  most  of  its  ancient  glory, 
extended  as  far  as  Chester.  Another  still  existent  forest, 
Sherwood,  in  Nottinghamshire,  associated  with  Robin  Hood 
and  his  crew,  was,  according  to  Camden,  anciently  set  with 
trees,  whose  entangled  branches  were  so  twisted  together 
that  they  hardly  left  room  for  a  man  to  pass.  Of  one  of  its 
outliers,  Charnwood  Forest,  the  name  only  remains,  for  the 
district  has  long  been  disafforested.  The  Forest  of  Dean 
was  described  as  "very  dark  and  terrible  "  on  account  of  its 
gloomy  paths  and  rides,  whilst  Denbighshire,  up  to  the 
fifteenth  century,  was  one  immense  forest,  from  the  Dee  to 
the  region  of  Snowdonia.  In  the  South  of  England  that 
vast  piece  of  woodland,  the  Andredsweald,  or  Forest  of 
Anderida,  stretched  for  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  continuously  between  the  North  and  South  Downs, 
and  formed  a  barrier  far  more  impervious  than  seas,  rivers, 
or  mountains.  These  dense  woodlands,  with  their  frequent 
marshy  bottoms,  were  inhabited  by  numerous  wild  beasts. 
The  huger  animals  of  an  earlier  period  had,  of  course,  long 
since  disappeared,  but  wolves  swarmed  in  Arden  and 
Sherwood,  and  the  wild  ox,  or  urus,  and  wild  boar  were 
objects  of  the  chase  at  a  period  long  after  that  with  which 
we  have  now  to  do.  In  fact,  in  the  time  of  Henry  II., 
we  hear  of  the  citizens  of  London  hunting  both  the 
last-named  animals  in  the  forests  of  Middlesex.  Wolves 
disappeared  finally  in  England  somewhere  in   the  fifteenth 


THE   ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      121 

century,  though  they  appear  to  have  hngered  in  the  re- 
cesses of  the  Irish  forests  until  the  eighteenth.  When  the 
bear  disappeared  is  not  known,  for  though  it  is  recorded 
that  the  city  of  Norwich  gave  one  of  these  animals  yearly  to 
Edward  the  Confessor,  it  is  possible  that  it  was  not  a  native 
wild  beast.  Beavers,  which  have  been  extinct  for  a  long 
time,  must  have  been  plentiful  in  the  wooded  swamps, 
judging  from  the  places  called  after  them,  such  as  Beverley, 
in  Yorkshire ;  Bevere,  near  Worcester ;  and  Nant  Fran^on 
(the  glen  of  the  beavers),  near  Llyn  Ogwen,  in  North 
Wales. 

Through  these  woods  in  some  districts,  but  more  frequently 
along  the  tops  of  high  ranges  of  hills,  the  Celtic  people  had 
cut  narrow  roads,  known  by  the  name  of  trackways,  remains 
of  which  may  be  seen  in  various  parts  to  the  present  day. 
Of  the  Ryknield  Street,  which  ran  through  Arden,  from  the 
Fosse  Way,  near  Stow,  to  Wall  on  the  Watling  Street,  pieces 
remain  here  and  there,  which  must  very  closely  resemble 
the  condition  of  that  road  when  actually  in  use.  One 
portion  of  this  way  which  is  probably  still  much  in  its 
primitive  state  is  Buckle  Street,  a  narrow  trackway  which 
runs  along  the  top  of  the  Cotswold  Hills,  above  Broadway, 
and  another  little  altered  portion  crosses  the  fields  between 
Alcester  and  Wixford.  Another  ancient  trackway  which 
preserves  its  original  appearance  is  called  the  Portway,  and 
runs  along  the  top  of  the  Longmynd,  above  Church 
Stretton,  in  Shropshire,  while  a  second  way  of  the  same 
kind  crosses,  close  to  the  same  place,  the  lower  Watling 
Street,  and  ends  in  the  valley  called  the  Cwms,  behind 
Caer  Caradoc.  Another  called  the  Ridgeway,  runs  along 
the  top  of  the  range  of  hills  which  intervenes  between 
AVeymouth  and  Dorchester,  and  many  other  examples  might 
be  cited,  from  which  only  one  further  instance,  and  that  the 
most  striking,  shall  be  selected.  Along  the  top  of  the  Downs 
above    the  Vale   of  White    Horse,   skirting    Ashdown,   the 


122  LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

^scandune  of  Alfred's  decisive  battle,  and  that  ancient 
barrow,  Weyland  Smith's  forge,  is  a  broad  grassy  road, 
marked  off  from  the  surrounding  fields  by  low  banks,  and 
called  in  that  part  of  the  country  the  Green  Road.  This 
ancient  way,  which  was  one  of  the  Quatuor  Chimini  of  the 
Confessor's  laws,  hereafter  to  be  dealt  with,  differs  from  the 
other  three  apparently  in  never  having  been  remade  by  the 
Romans,  by  whom  it  must  nevertheless  have  been  used. 
Under  the  name  of  the  Icknield  Street,  Acling  Street,  and 
other  terms,  it  makes  its  way  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
Gloucester  to  Icklingham,  in  Norfolkshire.  Its  ancient 
name  was  the  Icenhilde  Weg,  the  path  of  the  warriors  of 
the  Iceni,  a  Celtic  tribe  who  dwelt  in  the  district  which  is 
now  Norfolk.  This  street  gives  us  a  good  idea  of  what  the 
British  trackways  in  their  fullest  development  must  have 
looked  like,  and  one  of  the  great  aims  of  the  Romans  was 
to  construct  out  of  them  wide  and  well-made  roads  along 
which  bodies  of  troops  might  be  rapidly  and  easily  trans- 
ported from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another.  Their  road- 
making,  like  all  their  other  works,  was  carried  out  in  a  most 
systematic  and  careful  manner,  the  exact  method  of  con- 
struction varying  with  the  character  of  the  land  through 
which  the  road  had  to  pass.  Thus  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Lincoln  the  roads  through  the  marshes  were  upon  piles. 
On  the  other  hand  a  part  of  the  Great  Fosse  Road,  which 
still  remains  as  a  monument  to  the  engineering  capabilities 
of  the  Romans,  was  constructed  of  the  following  layers  : 
(i)  Pavimenfuifi,  or  foundation  of  fine  earth  beaten  in 
hard. 

(2)  Statumen,  or  the  bed  of  the  road,  which  was  com- 

posed of  large  stores,  sometimes  mixed  with  mortar. 

(3)  Rnderatio,    made   of  small    stones   also  mixed  with 

mortar. 

(4)  The  Nucleus,  which  was  formed  by  mixing  lime, 
chalk,  pounded  bricks  or  tiles  ;  or  again,  by  mixing 
gravel  sand,  and  lime  with  clay. 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF    BRITAIN      123 

(5)  The  Sumnnim  Dorsum,  or  top  of  the  road,  forming 
the  actual  surface  exposed  to  the  wear  and  tear 
of  the  traffic. 

Of  these  roads,  three  beside  the  Icknield  Street  were, 
in  the  time  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  called  the  Quatuor 
Chimini,  and  placed  under  the  King's  Peace,  that  is  to  say, 
crimes  committed  upon  them  were  tried  in  the  King's  Court, 
and  not  in  any  local  court,  as  would  have  been  the  case  had 
they  taken  place  on  any  other  road.  These  three  were  the 
Watling  Street,  the  Fosse  Way,  and  the  Ermine  Street,  and 
nmch  labour  has  been  spent  on  the  task  of  tracing  out  the 
exact  line  of  each,  a  task  rendered  none  the  easier  by  the 
fact  that  there  are  several  roads  of  each  of  these  names,  in 
some  cases  quite  unconnected  with  one  another.  A  few 
words  must  be  devoted  to  describing  the  course  of  each  of 
these  ways  ;  and  here  it  may  be  said  that  our  knowledge  of 
the  Roman  roads  and  stations  is  largely  drawn  from  the 
Itinerary  of  Antoninus,  a  description  of  the  roads  compiled 
probably  for  military  use  and  ascribed  to  the  age  of 
Hadrian  or  Severus.  The  most  celebrated  of  the  four  roads 
received  at  a  later  date  from  the  Saxons  the  name  of  Watling 
Street,  a  title,  by  the  way,  which,  as  we  learn  from  Chaucer, 
was  also  given  to  the  Milky  AVay  {see  Map).  Starting 
from  London,  it  ran  north-west  through  St.  Albans  (Veru- 
lamium),  Dunstable,  Fenny  and  Stony  Stratford,  Towcester 
(Lactodorum),  crossed  the  Fosse  Road  at  a  place  now  called 
High  Cross,  traversed  Wall  (Etocetum),  and  finally  reached 
Wroxeter  (Uriconium).  Here  it  met  a  second  but  smaller 
road  of  the  same  name,  which,  starting  from  Caerleon-on- 
Usk  (Isca  Silurum),  passed  through  Kenchester  (Magna), 
near  Hereford,  Leintwardine  (Branodunum),  and  the  Stret- 
ton  Valley. 

Places  with  names  such  as  Stretton,  Stretford,  Stratford, 
and  the  like,  found  along  these  and  other  great  roads  of 
the  time,  derive  their  titles  from  their  proximity  to  the 
ancient  "  street." 


124  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

The  Fosse  Road  started  from  a  point  north  of  Seaton,  in 
Devonshire,  passing  thence  north-east  through  Bath  (Aquae 
Suhs),  Cirencester  (Corinium),  and  Stow-on-the-Wold,  to 
High  Cross  already  mentioned.  Thence  through  Leicester 
(Ratffi)  and  Newark  it  pursued  its  course  to  terminate  at 
Lincoln  (Lindum  Colonia).  The  Ermine  Street  in  later 
times  ran  nearly  due  north  from  London  to  Lincoln,  but 
it  is  probable  from  the  silence  of  the  Roman  itineraries  as 
to  any  direct  road  between  the  former  city  and  Huntingdon, 
that  the  only  part  of  the  street  which  existed  at  the  time 
with  which  we  are  now  dealing  was  the  northern  portion 
between  Huntingdon  and  Lincoln. 

These  great  streets  were  provided  with  many  of  the 
conveniences  possessed  l)y  our  own  main  roads  at  the 
present  day.  They  were  marked  by  milliaria,  or  mile- 
stones, a  number  of  which  have  been  found  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  along  the  course  of  former  Roman 
highways.  They  bore,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  example, 
found  some  time  ago  about  two  miles  from  Leicester 
(Ratae),  not  merely  the  distance  from  the  nearest  town, 
but  also  the  titles  of  the  reigning  CKsar  and  the  year,  so 
that  it  is  possible  to  tell  the  date  at  which  each  was  placed 
in  its  position. 

IMP.    CAES. 

DIV.     TRAIANI.     PARTH.    F.     NER.     NEP. 

TRAIAN.     HADRIAN'.     AVG.     P.     P.     TRIB. 

POT.     IV.    COS.     III. 

A.     RATIS.     II.* 

Along  the  roads,  at  distances  varying  from  seven  to  twenty 
miles,  were  placed  posting-stations  (mansiones)  which,  at 

*  "  Imperatore  Caesare  Divi  Trajani  Augusti,  Maximi  Nobilissimi 
Parthici  Filio  Divo  Augusto  Maximo  Nobilissimo  Hadriano  Tri- 
bunitii  Potestatis  Quarto  Ter  Consulate.     A  Ratis  Duo." 

During  the  emperorship  of  the  divine,  august,  most  great  and 
noble  Caesar  Hadrian,  son  of  the  divine,  august,  most  great  and 
noble  Trajan,  conqueror  of  Parthia,  in  the  fourth  year  of  his  tribu- 
nitian  power  :   thrice  consul.     Two  miles  to  Leicester. 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION   OF   BRITAIN      125 

first  intended  for  the  use  of  the  military  only,  eventually 
came  to  resemble  the  inns  of  our  own  day,  and  provided 
hospitality  for  travellers  of  all  kinds.  In  many  places  the 
cemeteries  were  placed  by  the  sides  of  great  roads ;  indeed, 
so  many  funeral  monuments  have  been  discovered  by  the 
side  of  the  road  between  York  and  Tadcaster  (Calcaria), 
that  it  has  received  the  name  of  the  Street  of  Tombs. 

As  the  Romans  pushed  their  military  operations  deeper 
and  deeper  into  the  heart  of  the  country,  they  were  naturally 
confronted  with  the  necessity  of  providing  suitable  accommo- 
dation, either  temporary  or  permanent,  for  their  troops. 
Where  possible  they,  no  doubt,  saved  themselves  the 
trouble  of  constructing  fortifications  of  their  own  by 
utilising,  with  or  without  modification,  those  British  camps 
whose  occupants  had  fled  or  been  expelled.  Hence  we  meet 
with  many  fortresses  which  have  been  successively  used  by 
these  races  and  by  those  who  came  after  them  in  the  land, 
such  as  old  Sarum,  the  Roman  Sorbiodunum,  a  place  whose 
history  is  an  instance  of  what  has  occurred  at  many  another 
spot  of  less  strategic  advantage  and  fame.  "  Celt  and 
Roman  alike,"  writes  Mr.  Green,  "  had  seen  the  military 
value  of  the  height  from  which  the  eye  sweeps  nowadays 
over  the  grassy  meadows  of  the  Avon  to  the  arrowy  spire  of 
Salisbury ;  and  admirable  as  the  position  was  in  itself,  it 
had  been  strengthened  at  a  vast  cost  of  labour.  The  camp 
on  the  summit  of  the  knoll  was  girt  in  by  a  trench  hewn  so 
deeply  in  the  chalk  that  from  the  inner  side  of  it  the  white 
face  of  the  rampart  rose  one  hundred  feet  high,  while  strong 
outworks  protected  the  approaches  to  the  fortress,  from  the 
west  and  from  the  east."  This  fortress  long  held  out  against 
the  progress  of  the  West  Saxons,  barring  their  approach  up 
the  Avon  Valley,  and  finally  fell,  probably  because  want  of 
food  or  water  caused  its  defenders  to  evacuate  it.  It  was 
afterwards  held  by  the  Saxons  and  Danes,  and  here  Canute 
died.     In  Norman  times,  William  the  Conqueror  summoned 


125  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

his  barons  to  Old  Sarum  to  renew  their  oath  of  fealty.  Its 
decay  dates  from  the  time  when  the  Bishop  and  clergy, 
weary  of  squabbles  with  the  military,  and  probably  also 
influenced  by  the  chronic  want  of  water,  migrated  to  the 
plains  and  founded  the  present  City  of  Salisbury.  In  later 
times,  Old  Sarum  appears  as  the  rottenest  of  rotten  boroughs, 
whose  two  members  were  returned  by  one  elector,  and  now 
its  earthworks  alone  remain  as  an  imperishable  monument 
of  its  former  greatness. 

But  where  the  Romans  had  to  undertake  the  construction 
of  a  camp  from,  the  beginning,  the  plan  which  they  pre- 
ferred was  that  of  a  quadrangle,  with  four  gates  or  entrances, 
one  in  each  side,  and  often  protected  by  advance  earth- 
works. Of  these  earthworks,  castra  exploratoria,  or  tempo- 
rary fortifications,  such  as  might  be  thrown  up  by  the 
advance  guard  of  an  army,  and  castra  (estiva,  which  were 
intended  to  be  used  during  a  whole  season,  are  generally 
placed  on  the  tops  of  hills,  and,  consequently,  are  not 
so  regular  in  their  outline  as  the  more  permanent  con- 
structions. Careful  rules  were  laid  down  by  the  Roman 
authorities  on  castrametation  as  to  the  selection  of 
localities  for  the  camps,  and  Hyginus,  in  a  treatise  of  the 
kind,  enumerates  the  objects  which  should  be  avoided  as 
neighbours  for  the  proposed  camp.  These  he  calls  /loverae, 
a  word  meaning  mothers-in-law,  that  much  abused  character 
having  thus  early  acquired  an  evil  reputation.  "  Those 
defects  which  our  ancestors  called  novercse,"  he  says, 
"  should  always  be  avoided ;  such  as  a  hill  commanding 
the  camp,  by  which  the  enemy  can  descend  in  attack,  or 
see  what  is  done  in  the  camp ;  or  a  wood  where  the  enemy 
can  lie  in  ambush  ;  or  ravines  or  valleys  by  which  they  can 
steal  unawares  on  the  camp  ;  or  such  a  situation  of  the 
camp  that  it  can  be  suddenly  flooded  from  a  river." 
Castra  stativa,  or  stations  which  were  intended  for  pro- 
longed occupation,  were  generally  placed  on  lower  ground 


THE   ROMAN   OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      127 

and  in  the  vicinity  of  water.  When  fully  developed,  this 
kind  of  camp  was  called  legionary,  and  an  example  of  the 
kind  at  Caistor  in  Northamptonshire  (which  indeed  derives 
its  name  from  this  castra)  is  an  oblong,  1349  feet  in  length 
and  1 1 20  in  breadth,  and  covers  about  33  acres  of  ground. 
In  such  a  camp,  the  gate  facing  the  enemy  was  called  the 
Porta  Proetoria,  and  from  it  led  a  straight  wide  path,  the  Via 
Principalis,  to  the  gru ma,  or  measuring  point,  behind  which 
was  situated  the  Prtetorium.  On  this  were  the  altar  for 
public  sacrifices,  the  Auguratorium,  where  the  auspices 
were  consulted,  and  the  Tribunal,  from  which  the  troops 
were  harangued.  A  second  Via  Principalis  cut  the  first  at 
right  angles  and  led  from  the  Porta  Principalis  of  one  side 
to  that  of  the  other.  The  gate  at  the  opposite  side  to  the 
Praetorian,  and  therefore  furthest  from  the  enemy,  was  called 
Porta  Decumana.  In  the  interior,  the  positions  of  the  leader 
and  his  staff,  of  the  various  troops  and  of  the  workshops, 
were  marked  out  with  that  precision  so  characteristic  of  the 
military  genius  of  the  Romans. 

Even  the  most  perfect  form  of  camp,  however,  was  more 
or  less  of  a  temporary  expedient,  and  often  the  castra  stativa 
proved  to  be  the  forerunner  of  the  later  walled  city.  "A 
Roman  camp  was  '  a  city  in  arms,'  and  most  of  the  British 
towns  grew  out  of  the  stationary  quarters  of  the  soldiery. 
The  ramparts  and  pathways  developed  into  walls  and  streets, 
the  square  of  the  tribunal  into  the  market-place,  and  every 
gateway  was  the  beginning  of  a  suburb,  where  straggling 
rows  of  shops,  temples,  rose-gardens,  and  cemeteries,  were 
sheltered  from  all  danger  by  the  presence  of  a  permanent 
garrison.  In  course  of  time  the  important  positions  were 
surrounded  with  lofty  walls,  protected  by  turrets  set  apart  at 
the  distance  of  a  bowshot,  and  built  of  such  solid  strength 
as  to  resist  the  shock  of  a  battering-ram.  In  the  centre  of 
the  town  stood  a  gioup  of  public  buildings,  containing  the 
courthouse,  baths  and  barracks,  and  it  seems    likely  that 


128  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

every  important  place  had  a  theatre  or  a  circus  for  races 
and  shows.  The  humble  beginnings  of  our  cities  are  seen 
in  the  ancient  sketch  of  a  visit  to  central  Britain,  in  which 
a  poet  (Statius)  pictured  the  arrival  of  the  son  of  a  former 
governor,  and  imagined  a  white-haired  old  man  pointing 
out  the  changes  of  the  province.  '  Here  your  father,'  he 
says,  '  sat  in  judgment,  and  on  that  bank  he  stood  and 
addressed  his  troops.  Those  watch-towers  and  distant 
forts  are  his,  and  these  walls  were  built  and  entrenched  by 
him.  This  trophy  of  arms  he  offered  to  the  gods  of  war, 
with  the  inscription  that  you  still  may  see  ;  that  cuirass  he 
donned  at  the  call  to  arms ;  this  corselet  he  tore  from  the 
body  of  a  British  king."  (Elton.)  In  some  instances  their 
situations  were  not  identical,  as  in  the  case  of  the  quadri- 
lateral Roman  camp,  locally  called  Poundbury,  situated 
on  a  hill  a  little  distance  north  of  Dorchester,  which  was 
the  parent  of  the  Roman  Durnovaria,  on  whose  remains 
Dorchester  stands.  But  here  the  alteration  in  position  was 
probably  due  to  the  greater  proximity  of  the  second  site  to 
the  water  supply.  In  other  cases,  the  town  grew  up 
actually  inside  the  earthworks,  which  may,  as  at  Wareham, 
though  altered,  persist  to  the  present  day.  Where  the 
walled  city  was  built  from  the  commencement  as  such,  and 
of  set  plan,  or  where  it  grew  out  of  a  legionary  camp,  it  was 
constructed  of  a  (quadrilateral  shape,  as  may  be  seen  at 
Dorchester  (where  avenues  of  trees  mark  out  the  foundations 
of  the  walls),  and  was  provided  with  a  gate  at  each  side. 
In  such  towns  two  main  streets  ran  at  right  angles  to  one 
another  so  as  to  connect  the  gates  of  opposite  sides,  and 
where  they  intersected  they  formed  the  cross,  which  we  find 
in  the  centre  of  towns  like  Gloucester,  Worcester  and  I  )or- 
chester.  But  in  other  cases  the  city  grew  up  fust,  and 
when  it  became  advisable  subsequently  to  provide  it  with 
walls,  they  had  to  accommodate  themselves  to  the  shape  of 
the  collection  of  houses  and  could  not  assume  a  rectangular 


THE   ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      129 

form.  Such  is  the  case  at  Silchester,  where  we  have 
perhaps  the  most  perfect  example  of  a  Roman  city  wall  in 
England.  When  the  Roman  troops  were  withdrawn  from 
this  country  there  existed  in  it  fifty  walled  towns,  not  count- 
ing the  stations  placed  along  the  course  of  the  more 
important  roads.  Of  these,  twenty-eight  deserved  to  rank 
as  cities,  two  of  them,  Eburacum  (York)  and  Verulamium 
(St.  Albans),  belonging  to  the  highest  class  or  municipia, 
and  nine  to  the  second  or  colonia.  It  may  perhaps  be 
interesting  to  give  the  names  of  the  colonia,  one  of  which 
has  long  since  out-topped  not  merely  its  fellows  but  also 
the  two  municipia  in  importance.  They  were  Glevum 
(Gloucester),  Lindum  (Lincoln),  Deva  (Chester),  Camulo- 
dunum  (Colchester),  Londinium  (London),  Rutupias  (Rich- 
borough,  the  port  of  prime  importance  at  that  time),  Aquge 
Sulis  (Bath),  Isca  Silurum  (Caerleon-on-Usk),  and  Cambo- 
ritum  (close  to  Cambridge). 

The  reader  will  perhaps  obtain  a  more  clear  idea  of  the 
construction  and  contents  of  a  Roman  city  if  a  few 
examples  are  first  described,  and  then  the  most  salient 
features  common  to  all  are  separately  dealt  with.  The 
remarkable  remains  of  Silchester,  which  might,  were  money 
forthcoming,  be  made  into  an  English  Pompeii,  are  situ- 
ated a  short  distance  from  Reading,  close  to  the  village  of 
Mortimer  Fielding,  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  wall  is  present 
and  in  a  wonderfully  perfect  condition,  its  extent  being  i| 
miles.  It  is  composed  largely  of  flint,  mixed,  however, 
with  other  stones,  and  is  intersected  with  bonding  courses, 
not,  as  in  all  other  walls  in  England  of  the  same  period, 
made  of  brick,  but  of  flat  slabs  of  stone.  It  is  from  15 
to  21  feet  in  height,  from  9  to  15  feet  in  thickness,  and 
is  strengthened  by  buttresses  placed  against  its  inner  face. 
It  has  the  usual  four  gateways,  and  in  addition,  a  smaller 
exit  directly  opposite  the  amphitheatre,  which  is,  as  cus- 
tomary, placed  outside  the  walls.     Beyond  the  walls,  and 

I 


I30 


LIFE   IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 


at  some  small  distance  from  them,  is  a  fosse,  which  is 
loo  feet  in  width  and  from  12  to  14  feet  in  depth, 
and  still  in  places  is  filled  with  water.  This  city  contained, 
besides  a  number  of  residences,  a  forum  forming  a 
parallelogram  276  by  313  feet,  which  was  surrounded  by 


Fig.  44 — Plan  of  Silchester,  showing  the  walls  and  some  of  the 
objects  of  interest.  N,  S,  W,  E,  the  principal  gates  ;  a,  Small 
gate  leading  to  b,  amphitheatre  ;  c,  forum  ;  d,  basilica  ;  e,  site 
of  Roman  Christian  basilica ;  f,  site  of  circular  temple  ;  g, 
"  Cavalry  barracks  "  ;  h,  baths  ;  j,  modern  church  ;  K,  K,  in- 
trenchments  ;  L,  L,  L,  remains  or  Fosse  ;  m  m,  Villas  ;  n, 
Hypocaust. 

an  ambulatory  from  12  to  15  feet  in  width.  Along  its 
northern  side  was  a  row  of  shops,  amongst  which  have  been 
identified  those  of  a  wine  merchant,  a  fish-seller,  from 
whom  were  bought  some  at  least  of  the  oysters  whose 
shells  litter  the  remains  of  Silchester  so  profusely,  a  butcher, 
whose  steel-yards  and  flesh-hooks  have  been  found,  a 
poulterer,  in  whose  shop  were  some  of  the  steel  spurs  used 
for  arming  game-cocks  for  a  fight,  and  a  jeweller.     Attached 


THE   ROMAN   OCCUPATION   OF   BRITAIN      131 

was  also  a  hall  for  the  use  of  merchants,  which  measured 
30  by  60  feet.  There  was  an  apsidal  basilica  276  by  60  feet, 
with  a  gallery  on  one  side,  and  a  central  nave  sustained  by 
two  rows  of  pillars  with  Corinthian  capitals.  Around  it  were 
a  series  of  smaller  rooms,  in  one  of  which  was  found  the 
eagle  or  standard  of  a  legion,  a  unique  discovery  so  far  as 
this  island  is  concerned.  There  have  also  been  identified 
one  or  more  temples,  the  usual  baths,  and  a  Christian  church. 
A  further  range  of  buildings  may  have  been  cavalry  barracks. 
To  all  these  objects  further  attention  will  be  paid  in  the 
next  chapter. 

Uriconium,  the  modern  Wroxeter,  situated  at  the  foot 
of  the  Wrekin,  in  Shropshire,  must  also  have  been  a  place 
of  great  importance.  "  The  town,"  says  Mr.  Green,  "  was 
strongly  placed  at  the  foot  of  the  Wrekin,  not  far  from  the 
bank  of  the  Severn,  and  was  of  great  extent.  Its  walls 
enclosed  a  space  more  than  double  that  of  Roman  London, 
while  the  remains  of  its  forum,  its  theatre  and  its  amphi- 
theatre, as  well  as  the  broad  streets  which  contrast  so 
strangely  with  the  narrow  alleys  of  other  British  towns, 
show  its  wealth  and  importance.  With  its  storm  by  the 
West  Saxons  the  very  existence  of  the  city  came  to  an  end. 
Its  ruins  show  that  the  place  was  plundered  and  burned, 
while  the  bones  which  lie  scattered  among  them  tell  their 
tale  of  the  flight  and  massacre  of  its  inhabitants,  of  women 
and  children  hewn  down  in  the  streets,  and  wretched 
fugitives  stifled  in  the  hypocausts  whither  they  had  fled 
with  their  little  hoards  for  shelter.  A  British  poet  sings 
piteously,  in  verses  still  left  to  us,  the  death-song  of 
Uriconium,  'the  white  town  in  the  valley,'  the  town  of 
white  stones  gleaming  amongst  the  green  woodlands.  The 
torch  of  the  foe  had  left  it,  when  he  sang,  a  heap  of  black- 
ened ruins,  where  the  singer  wandered  through  halls  he  had 
known  in  happier  days,  the  halls  of  its  chief  Kyndylan, 
'  without  fire,  without    light,  without    song,'  their   stillness 


132  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

broken  only  by  the  eagle's  scream,  the  eagle  'who  has 
swallowed  fresh  drink,  heart's  blood  of  Kyndylan  the  fair.' 
Of  this  great  city  even  less  remains  above  ground  than  of 
Silchester,  the  most  prominent  portion  being  a  bit  of  the 
city  wall,  long  known  in  the  district  as  the  '  Old  Works.' " 

This  fine  fragment  is  about  twenty  feet  in  height  and 
seventy-two  in  length.  Like  other  Roman  walls  it  is 
erected  upon  a  good  foundation,  on  which  are  laid  one  or 
two  set-off  courses  of  stone.  Upon  this  is  placed  a  series 
of  courses  of  shaped  stones,  then  a  string  or  bonding 
course  of  flat  tiles,  then  more  stones,  another  course  of 
tiles  and  so  on.  In  fact  this  alternation  of  tile  and  stone  is 
characteristic  of  Roman  walls  in  this  country,  that  fine 
fragment,  recently  threatened  with  destruction  by  a  railway 
company,  the  Jewry  )Vall,  a  portion  of  the  fortifications  of 
Ratse,  the  Roman  Leicester,  having  no  less  than  sixteen 
alternations  of  stone  and  tile.  In  some  cases  instead  of  the 
courses  of  tiles  having  been  laid  flat,  tlicy  have  been  placed 
in  a  herring-bone  manner.  Outside  the  area  of  the  wall  in 
places  can  be  seen  the  remains  of  the  fosse  and  ramparts 
with  which  it  was  surrounded.  As  has  been  mentioned  in 
another  chaj)ter,  the  ruins  of  Uriconium,  after  its  sack  and 
burning,  were  used  as  a  stone  quarry  for  the  building 
operations  of  later  ages.  The  pillars  of  the  gateway  lead- 
ing into  the  churchyard  are  topped  with  capitals  which  once 
surmounted  the  pillars  of  some  edifice  in  the  Roman  city, 
whilst  another  pillar,  hollowed  out  internally,  forms  the 
font.  Its  stones  are  found  not  merely  at  Wroxeter  and  at 
Atcham  in  the  walls  of  the  Norman  churches  of  those  two 
places,  but  are  said  to  have  been  used  in  great  numbers  in 
the  construction  of  the  Abbey  of  Lilleshall. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  surprising  that  there  should  not  be 
much  of  Uriconium  left  above  ground.  Our  knowledge  of 
v;hat  it  was  is  gained  from  the  excavations  which  have  been 
undertaken  there  from  time  to  time,  but  as  nearly  all  the 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      133 


134  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

places  which  have  been  disclosed  have  been  covered  up 
again,  in  order  that  the  land  may  be  used  for  agricultural 
purposes,  the  visitor  will  be  disappointed  if  he  expects  to 
see  any  number  of  the  objects  described  as  existing  at 
Uriconium  by  the  books  dealing  with  it.  In  fact,  he  will 
learn  more  as  to  the  habits  of  the  citizens  of  Uriconium  by 
visiting  the  museum  in  Shrewsbury,  where  are  collected 
many  of  the  objects  which  have  been  found  from  time  to 
time,  than  he  can  from  the  few  relics  to  be  seen  at  A\'roxeter. 
In  the  course  of  the  excavations  were  exposed  the  usual 
basilica  and  baths,  together  with  shops,  one  of  which, 
apparently  the  property  of  a  worker  in  glass  or  metal,  or  of 
an  enameller,  possessed  a  furnace  or  forge,  built  of  red 
clay,  the  interior  surface  of  which  had  been  completely 
vitrified  by  the  intense  heat  to  which  it  had  been  exposed. 
Four  or  five  feet  from  it  stood  a  curious  roughly-formed 
grey  stone,  circular  in  shape  and  with  a  flat  top,  which 
may  have  been  used  for  a  work-table.  The  villas,  here 
as  elsewhere,  had  been  warmed  by  a  heating  apparatus 
under  the  floors  of  the  rooms,  called  a  hypocaust,  which 
will  be  more  fully  described  in  the  next  chapter.  In  one  of 
the  hypocausts  were  found  the  remains  of  three  of  the 
inhabitants,  referred  to  in  the  passage  quoted  above.  One 
of  these  skeletons  was  that  of  a  woman,  another,  that  of  a 
very  old  man,  was  found  in  a  crouching  position  in  one 
corner  of  the  low  chamber  into  which  he  had  crept,  with 
his  savings,  for  near  his  remains  was  found  a  heap  consist- 
ing of  132  coins  and  a  few  nails,  the  latter  being  the 
only  remnants  of  the  wooden  box  in  which  the  money  had 
lain.  The  third  skeleton,  like  that  of  the  first,  was  a 
woman.  No  doubt  when  the  sack  of  the  town  took  place 
these  three  wretches  crawled  into  the  hypocaust  by  the 
narrow  passage  through  which  the  flames  and  heat  entered, 
in  the  hope  that  they  might  escape  the  notice  of  their 
barbarian  foes.     But  whilst   hiding  there   they   must  have 


THE   ROMAN   OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      135 

been  stifled,  either  by  the  hot  air  and  smoke  belonging  to 
the  hypocaust,  or  by  the  conflagration  in  which  the  city 
itself  perished. 

Corinium,  the  modern  Cirencester,  was  probably  built  on 
the  site  of  a  British  camp,  and  was  surrounded  by  walls, 
fifteen  feet  in  height  and  two  miles  in  circuit,  which  en- 
closed a  parallelogram.  It  was  placed  at  the  junction  of 
several  important  roads,  as  the  Fosse  ran  through  it,  also 
another  great  highway  called  the  Ermine  Street  (not,  of 
course,  that  mentioned  earlier  in  this  chapter),  whilst,  finally, 
another  road  which  led  to  Bath  and  received  in  Saxon  times 
the  significant  name  of  Akeman  Street,*  from  the  condition 
of  the  gouty  sufferers  who  travelled  along  it,  also  traversed 
the  city. 

It  was  the  chief  town  of  the  Cotswold  district,  a  district 
distinguished  above  all  other  parts  of  England  by  the 
number,  size  and  magnificence  of  its  villas,  and  is  said 
to  have  been  occupied  by  Ostorius  Scapula  prior  to  his 
campaign  against  Caratacos.  One  may  gather  from  the 
words  of  Stukeley  not  merely  what  extensive  remains  there 
were  in  existence  at  his  day,  but  also  how  it  is  that  so  many 
of  them  both  there  and  elsewhere  are  no  more  to  be  seen. 
"  Here/'  he  says,  "  are  found  many  mosaic  pavements, 
rings,  intaglios,  and  coins  innumerable,  especially  in  one 
great  garden,  called  Lewis  Grounds.  I  suppose  it  was  the 
Pr^torium-  Large  quantities  of  carved  stones  are  carried 
off  yearly  in  carts,  to  mend  the  highways,  besides  what  are 
useful  in  building.  In  the  same  place  they  found  several 
stones  of  the  shafts  of  pillars,  6  ft.  long,  and  bases  of 
stone  (as  the  tenant  expressed  himself)  near  as  big  in  com- 
pass as  his  summer-house  adjoining ;  these,  with  cornices, 
very  handsomely  moulded,  and  carved  with  modillions  and 

*  It  is  right  to  say  that  this  etymology  has  been  objected  to  by 
some  who  find  in  the  word  Aqua  (water)  the  derivation  of  the  first 
syllable  of  the  name. 


136  LIFE   IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

the  like  ornaments,  were  converted  into  swine  troughs. 
Some  of  the  stones  of  the  bases  were  fastened  together  with 
cramps  of  iron,  so  that  they  were  forced  to  employ  horses  to 
draw  them  asunder.  Capitals  of  these  pillars  were  likewise 
found." 

Like  the  villas  in  the  district  to  which  it  belonged,  the 
houses  of  Corinium  were  notable  for  the  beauty  and  diversity 
of  their  tesselated  pavements,  of  many  of  which  we  fortu- 
nately possess  full  details,  which  will  be  dealt  with  in  the 
next  chapter.  Here  have  also  been  found  funeral  monu- 
ments and  other  inscriptions,  some  on  the  walls  of  houses. 
Outside  the  wall  of  the  city  was  an  amphitheatre. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  give  further  accounts  of  the 
general  details  of  the  Roman  towns  in  Britain,  but  what  has 
been  said  will  show  how  immeasurably  civilisation  had 
advanced  upon  the  lake  villages  of  the  previous  era,  lake 
villages  which,  be  it  remembered,  were  still  existing  in 
England,  side  by  side  with,  and  only  partially  influenced  by, 
the  culture  of  the  cities  which  we  have  been  considering. 


CHAPTER    VII 

THE   ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN 

— continued 

The  Roman  city — Cemetery — Pomoerium — Amphitheatre 
—  Gates — Forum  and  Basilica — Shops — Baths— Temples — 
Christian  Church — Barracks. 


The  outlines  afforded  in  the  last  chapter  of  the  Romano 

British  cities  must  now  be  filled  in 

by  a  more  complete  description  of 

some  of  the  prominent  objects  found 

in  or  near  them.    This  may  perhaps 

best  be  effected  by  taking  them  in 

the    order    in    which    they    would 

naturally  be  met  with  by  a  stranger 

visiting    a    city    for    the    first    time. 

Approaching  by  one   of  the   great 

roads,  the  attention  of  the  traveller 

would  probably  first  be  attracted  by 

the  numerous  tombstones  which  he 

would  see  by  its  side,  setting  forth 

the  names,  ages  and  conditions  of 

those  who   were   interred  beneath. 

These  would,  in  the  great  majority 

of  cases,  as  is  natural,  having  regard 

to  the  condition  of  the  country,  be 

*  The  inscription  may  be  thus  translated:  "  Rufus  Sita,  of  the 
sixth  cohort  of  the  Thracians,  forty  years  of  age,  served  twenty-two 


Fig.  46. — Roman  Tomb- 
stone from  Uriconium. 
(Wright.  )^= 


138 


LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 


either  soldiers  or  their  relatives.  Some  of  these  are  adorned 
with  carvings  like  that  on  which  a  Roman  soldier  on  horse- 
back is  represented  as  bestriding  his  prostrate  British  foe. 
A  few  instances  out  of  the  many  which  have  been  collected 
must  suffice. 

(i)  A  military  tombstone  from  Uriconium.  The  original 
inscription  is  on  the  left,  the  full  Latin  in  the  centre,  and 
the  translation  on  the  right. 


M.  PETRONius       Marcus  Petronius, 


LF.    MEN 
vie.     AXX 
XXXVIII 
MIL.     LEG 
XIII.     GEM 
MILITAVIT 
ANN.    XVIII 
SIGN.    FVIT 
H.    S.    E. 


Lucii  filius  Menenia, 
Vicsit  annis 
xxxviii 

miles  legionis 
xiii  geminas, 
militavit 
annis  xviii, 
Signifer  fuit. 
Hie  situs  est. 


Marcus  Petronius, 

son  of  Lucius,  of  the  Men- 

enian  tribe,  lived  38 

years, 

a  soldier  of  the  fourteenth 

legion,  called  Gemina  ;  he 

served  as  a  soldier 

eighteen  years, 

and  was  a  standard-bearer. 

He  lies  here. 


(ii)  The  next  instance  is  that  of  a  family  tombstone  from 
the  same  place,  which  was  intended  originally  to  commemo- 
rate three  persons,  being  divided  into  three  compartments, 
but  for  some  reason  the  third,  which  was  probably  intended 
to  bear  the  name  of  the  husband  and  brother  (?)  of  those 
to  whom  the  first  two  sections  belong,  has  remained  unfilled 
up.     In  the  first  compartment  appears  : 


D.    M. 

Diis  Manibus. 

To  the  Gods  of  the  Shades. 

PLACIDA 

Placida 

Placida 

AN.    LV. 

Annorum  Iv. , 

aged  fifty-five  years, 

CUR.    AG 

Curam  agente 

erected  by  the  care  of 

CON  I.    A 

Conjuge  annorum 

him  who  was  her  husband 

XXX 

XXX, 

for  thirty  years. 

years  in  the  ranks.  His  heirs  have  caused  this  monument  to  be 
erected  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  his  will.  He  is  buried 
here." 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      139 
In  the  second  : 


D.    M. 

Diis  Manibus. 

To  the  Gods  of  the  Shades. 

DEVCCV 

Deuccu 

Deuccus 

S.    AN.    XV 

s,  annorum  xv. 

aged  fifteen  years  ; 

CVR.    AG 

curam  agente 

erected  by  the  care  of 

FRATRE. 

fratre. 

his  brother. 

(iii)  One  final  instance  may  be  given  of  an  inscription  on 
the  cofhn  of  a  child,  discovered  near  Holdgate  in  Yorkshire  : 

D.  M.  siMPLici.T,.  FLORENTINE      To  the  Gods  of  the  Shades  of  Sim- 

ANiME  iNNOCENTissiME  pUcia  Florcntina,  a  most  innocent 

QUE.  vixiT  MENSES  DECEM  soul,  who  lived  ten  months. 

FELicius.  SIMPLEX.  PATER  FECIT  Fehcius  Simplex,  her  father,  of  the 

LEG.  VI.  V.  Sixth  legion,  the  Victorious,  made 

this. 

Approaching  still  nearer  the  city  the  pomcerium  would 
appear,  an  open  space  outside  the  walls  which  might  not  be 
built  upon.  Mr.  Gomme  thinks  that  in  the  name  of  the 
parish  of  St.  Martin's  Pomeroy,  London,  we  have  a  relic  of 
the  pomcerium  of  Londinium,  just  as  the  "pummery,"an 
open  space  outside  Dorchester,  may  be  that  of  Durnovaria. 

Before  entering  the  city,  the  amphitheatre  would  also  be 
visited,  and  of  these  open-air  places  of  amusement  we  have 
several  good  examples  in  this  country,  that  near  Dorchester, 
known  as  Maumbury,  being  the  finest.  This  is  an  oval 
earthwork,  enclosing  a  space  218  ft.  in  length  and  163  ft.  in 
width,  and  has  been  constructed  by  excavating  the  chalk 
and  heaping  it  up  into  a  rampart  30  ft.  high.  This  rampart 
is  interrupted  by  two  openings  at  its  opposite  ends,  by  which 
entrance  was  gained  to  the  interior.  It  rises  gradually  to 
attain  its  maximum  height  midway  between  the  openings, 
and  was  no  doubt  once  arranged  in  tiers  to  accommodate 
the  rows  of  spectators.  In  much  later  days,  in  fact,  in  the 
last  century,  it  was  used  as  the  public  place  of  execution, 
and  it  is  calculated  that  ten  thousand  persons  have  been 
present  in  it  on  such  occasions.     Another  amphitheatre  is 


140 


LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 


situated  near  Cirencester,  in  which  the  bank,  20  ft.  in 
height,  encloses  a  space  148  ft.  by  134  ft.  Few  vestiges  of 
the  seats  remain  here,  though,  if  we  may  trust  the  account 
of  earher  writers,  they  must  have  been  much  more  distinct 
in  comparatively  recent  times.  An  amphitheatre  outside 
the  walls  of  Caerleon-on-Usk  goes  by  the  name  of  King 
Arthur's  Round  Table,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  there  is  a 
fourth  outside  Silchester.     The  amphitheatre  inspected,  the 


^^"> 


Fig.  47. — Roman  Gate  at  Lindum  (Lincoln).  (Wright.)  The 
figure  is  reversed,  the  smaller  arch  being  really  to  the  right  of 
the  large  one. 


traveller  would  next  approach  the  wall,  the  general  structure 
of  which  has  already  been  sufficiently  described,  and  enter 
the  city  by  one  of  its  gates.  At  Lincoln  one  of  the  smaller 
entrances  to  the  city  of  Liiidum  Colonia  still  remains,  and 
is  called  the  Newport  Arch.  The  original  design  of  this 
gateway  no  doul)t  consisted  of  a  large  central  archway,  with 
two  smaller  posterns,  one  on  either  side,  but  of  the  latter, 
one  has  completely  disappeared.  The  main  arch  consists 
of  twenty-six  huge  wedge-shaped  blocks  of  stone  without 
any  regular  keystone,  and   is  16  ft.  in  diameter.     Passing 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      141 

through  the  gateway  and  following  one  of  the  main  streets 
to  the  centre  of  the  city,  the  forum  and  basilica  would  be 
reached.  The  reader  can  form  a  good  idea  of  what  these 
important  buildings  were  like  from  the  following  account  of 
those  of  Silchester,  given  by  Mr.  Joyce.  The  forum  pre- 
sented a  straight  line  of  unbroken  wall,  without  a  projection, 


I*"iG.  48. — Plan  of  Forum  (the  square  enclosure)  and  Basilica  (the 
oblong  enclosure  to  the  left)  at  Silchester.  The  former  is 
separated  by  an  ambulatory  from  rows  of  shops  and  offices, 
and  the  latter  has  a  lateral  apsidal  recess  and  two  apsidal 
tribunes.     (After  a  plan  in  the  Archccologia. ) 


having  one  entrance  at  some  hundred  feet  from  its  western 
termination.  Between  the  entrance  and  that  western  end 
rose  the  basilica,  towering  over  all  the  other  buildings,  and 
over  the  forum  itself.  Against  this  wall  of  the  basilica, 
close  to  the  intersection  of  the  two  great  viae,  was  an  in- 
scription in  honour  of  the  local  god,  the  Segontian  Hercules. 
The  forum  proper  was,  therefore^  on  the    left    hand   at 


142  LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

entering  by  this  northern  doorway,  and  the  basiUca  and 
council-chambers  on  the  right.  Confining  ourselves  first 
to  the  forum,  properly  so  called,  and  excluding  for  the 
present  any  other  buildings  which  lie  within  its  plan,  the 
visitor,  immediately  upon  passing  through  the  entrance, 
would  have  found  himself  standing  in  an  ambulatory,  which 
stretched  away  to  his  left  hand,  and  might  be  followed, 
without  a  break,  completely  round  three  sides  of  the  entire 
edifice,  making  the  circuit  until  it  arrived  on  the  southern 
side,  at  an  exit  corresponding  to  the  doorway  on  the  north  ; 
any  one  walking  along  it,  however,  must  pass  by  the  great 
entrance,  which  was  at  the  centre  of  the  eastern  side.  The 
range  of  the  shops  extended  the  whole  way  along  the  inner 
part  of  this  ambulatory,  forming  a  sort  of  bazaar,  except  on 
the  south  side,  where  the  rooms  were  larger,  and  had  other 
uses.  Within  the  range  of  shops,  again,  was  a  second  line 
of  ambulatories,  enclosing  on  three  sides  the  great  central 
court  or  quadrangle  of  the  forum.  The  general  plan  may, 
therefore,  be  described  as  a  rectangular  court,  encompassed 
round  three  of  its  sides  by  symmetrical  ranges  of  not  very 
lofty  buildings,  which  contained  a  double  row  of  ambula- 
tories, having  between  their  lines  a  series  of  chambers,  used 
for  shops  or  for  public  business.  The  fourth  side  of  the 
central  court  was  formed  by  the  side  wall  of  the  basilica, 
which  extended  its  whole  length.  The  range  of  rooms  lying 
between  the  double  range  of  ambulatories,  on  the  south 
side,  was  not  used  for  shops,  but  for  the  offices  of  the  public 
departments,  to  which  there  would  be  perpetual  resort  out 
of  the  forum.  These  rooms  are  more  stately  in  size,  and 
were  probably  loftier  than  the  shops  ;  they  also  are  only 
five  in  number,  and  are  distinguished,  by  their  arrangement, 
as  a  group  constructed  for  an  especial  purpose. 

The  central  and  the  two  end  rooms  (all  alike  in  size)  are 
rectangular,  but  those  on  each  side  of  the  central  room  have 
semi-circular  ends,  implying  that  they  were  built   for   the 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      143 

reception  of  boards  or  committees,  with  a  president  and 
assessors.  In  this  group  of  pubUc  offices  the  business  of 
the  sedile,  quaestor,  and  the  revenue  was  carried  on.  The 
inner  ambulatories  at  each  side  opened  into  the  basihca, 
and  there  was  most  Ukely  also  an  entrance  to  it  from  the 
central  court.  Passing  now,  therefore,  out  of  the  forum 
proper  into  the  basilica,  the  first  particular  which  at  once 
arrests  the  attention  is  its  magnitude.  Including  the  two 
tribunals,  which  face  each  other  at  the  extreme  ends,  this 
basilica  extended  entirely  across  the  forum. 

Its  total  length  consequently,  measuring  from  the  outside 
of  its  north  end  to  the  outside  of  its  south  end,  was  not  less 
than  276  ft.;  or,  omitting  the  tribunals  altogether,  the 
central  space  was  about  230  ft.  long  by  60  ft.  wide.  This, 
however,  by  no  means  fills  up  the  plan  between  the 
wide  party  wall  next  the  forum  and  the  west  exterior  wall. 
All  along  the  whole  west  side  of  the  basilica  were  spacious 
chambers  (to  certain  of  which  uses  have  been  assigned  from 
the  articles  found  within  them),  that  at  the  centre  being  un- 
equivocally the  curia,  or  principal  hall  of  council.  This 
latter  was  quite  open  to  the  basilica  along  its  entire  front, 
was  always  a  lofty  room,  and  at  Silchester  was  ascended  by 
two  steps  ;  the  back  of  it  was  formed  by  a  wide  shallow  semi- 
circle, so  as  to  accommodate  a  large  council  board,  and  it 
was  lined  with  a  dado  of  white  Italian  marble  sawn  in  thin 
slabs,  and  secured  by  small  iron  clamps.  The  largest  room, 
however,  along  this  range  was  a  great  apartment,  60  ft. 
long,  which  occupied  the  northern  end,  and  to  which,  from 
the  connection  Vitruvius  mentions  between  merchants  and 
basilicfB,  the  name  of  the  Hall  of  Merchants  has  been 
assigned.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  of  the  spacious 
chambers  nothing  remains  but  the  outline  of  their  several 
floors.  To  revert  to  the  great  basilica  itself,  it  might  with 
propriety  be  described  as  consisting  really  of  two  courts, 
placed  end  to  end.    No  septum  or  division,  nor  any  indica- 


144  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

tion  whatever  of  one,  has  been  discovered,  but  the  dimen- 
sions  (that   is   to  say,   the   length  as  compared  with   the 
breadth)  ahiiost   indicate   that   such  was   the    purpose  of 
its  original  designer.     A  Roman   basilica  was  built  upon 
such  a  plan  that  its  nave  or  central  area  (which  was  very 
lofty)  had  on   either  hand  an  aisle  in  two  stories.      The 
lower  story  of  the  aisle  was  formed  by  a  colonnade  of  large 
pillars,  and  the  upper  by  a  gallery  behind  a  parapet,  having 
along   its    front   a   range    of  smaller   pillars,   which   stood 
symmetrically  over  the  large  ones.     The  colonnade  below 
had  thus  to  support  an  enormous  weight,  and  it  was  usual  to 
give  strength  and   firmness  to  the  bases   of  the  columns 
by  placing  them  upon  a  massive  substructural  wall,  which 
wall,   built  beneath  the  floor  of  the  basilica,  kept  all  the 
columns  true  to  the  level,  and  greatly  aided  them  to  bear 
the  superincumbent  pressure  without  sinking.    At  Silchester 
nave   and   aisles  are  obliterated,    the   splendid   colonnade 
is  represented  by  a  few  blocks  of  weather-worn  shafts  and 
by  some  fragments  of  well-wrought  capitals ;  but  the  massive 
substructural  wall  on  one  side  of  the  basilica,  which  sup- 
ported its  long  range  of  pillars,  remains  embedded  still  in 
the   ground,    and   is   no   less   than    5    ft.    wide.      Of   the 
corresponding  wall,  upon  the  oppposite  side  of  the  centre, 
not  the  slightest  vestige  has  been  recovered,  though  care- 
fully sought  for. 

Portions  of  shafts  of  two  sizes  (as  might  be  expected)  lay 
about  among  the  debris  in  the  centre.  The  diameter  of 
the  largest  was  3  ft.,  that  of  the  smaller,  i  ft.  10  in. 
Parts  of  two  bases  have  also  been  met  with,  one  of  them 
having  the  torus  mouldings  fairly  marked  still,  but  both 
being  more  or  less  defaced.  Fragments  of  capitals  of 
a  very  enriched  style  and  excellent  workmanship  have 
also  been  discovered,  but  unfortunately  no  pieces  of  sculp- 
ture and  only  a  few  fragments  of  inscriptions  have  come 
to  litflit.      Much    curious    ironwork   has    been    from  time 


THE   ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF    BRITAIN      145 

to  time  found  in  the  forum,  amongst  other  things,  the  keys 
of  the  shops  in  the  ambulatories,  the  styh  with  which  the 
tradesmen  kept  their  accounts,  door-hinges  (one  especially, 
which  appears  to  be  made  to  keep  a  door  closed  by  a 
spring  at  the  back),  snap-lock  bolts,  rings  in  pairs  for  the 
handles  of  double  doors,  nails  of  every  size  and  shape.  A 
small  iron  axe,  knife-blades  of  various  sizes,  the  hooks  of 
the  butchers'  steel-yards  found  in  the  shops  of  the  butchers, 
and  the  blade  of  an  oyster-knife  in  the  fishmonger's. 
The  bronze  articles  consist  principally  of  fibute  of  various 
patterns — small  armlets,  pieces  of  a  chain-bracelet  with  a 


Fig.  49. — Roman  Pottery  from 

Castor  (Durobrivce). 

(Wright.) 


Fig.  50. — Roman  Pottery 

from  Upchurch. 

(Wright.) 


snap,  some  playthings,  such  as  a  toy-anchor  and  tiny  game- 
cock, a  quaint  little  long-legged  horse,  meant  apparently  to 
rock  by  balancing  on  a  small  sphere  of  metal  (though  none 
now  exists),  a  tiny  axe  (probably  one  of  a  set  of  pendent 
ornaments),  a  scale-bottom,  some  very  small  hand-bells, 
toilette  implements  and  studs  of  curiously  modern  shape. 
Besides  the  shops  incidentally  mentioned  here  in  the  last 
chapter,  the  visitor  would  probably  find  one  or  more 
devoted  to  the  sale  of  the  various  fictile  wares  made  or  im- 
ported by  the  Romans.  Of  pottery,  two  kinds  appear  to 
have  been  made  in  this  country,  that  of  Upchurch  on  the 

K 


146  LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

Medway,  which  was  of  a  blue-black  colour  and  hard  in 
texture,  and  that  called  Uurobrivian,  from  its  place  of 
manufacture  (Durobrivre,  or  Castor  in  Northamptonshire). 
This  was  of  a  superior  character  to  the  other  ware,  being 
better  designed  and  often  ornamented  in  white  relief  with 
hunting  scenes  and  other  groups  of  figures  or  animals. 
Its  colour  was  generally  bluish  or  slaty,  though  vases  of 
a  dark  copper  hue  have  also  been  found.  The  potteries  of 
this  district  must  have  been  very  numerous,  since  they  are 
said  to  have  extended  for  twenty  miles  along  the  river  Nen, 


Fig.  51.  — Samian  Pottery.     (Wright.) 

and  to  have  employed  at  least  2000  men.  A  still  more 
beautiful  form  of  pottery  found  in  quantities  in  Britain  was 
the  Samian  ware.  This  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
made  in  this  country  but  was  imported  from  abroad,  is  of  a 
fine  red  colour  and  has  a  highly  polished  surface.  It  was 
evidently  much  valued  by  its  possessors,  for  we  find  pieces 
which  have  been  accidentally  broken  and  afterwards 
mended  with  rivets,  just  as  a  valuable  piece  of  porcelain 
might  be  treated  to-day.  This  ware  is  ornamented  with 
raised  patterns  representing  trees,  animals,  hunting  and 
mythological  scenes. 

Of  one  or  other  of  these  kinds  of  pottery  the  most  varied 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      147 

articles  might  be  purchased,  from  a  baby's  bottle,  for  such  an 
article  has  been  found  at  Colchester,  to  large  and  beautiful 
bowls  and  dishes.  Terra-cotta  statuettes  manufactured  at 
Richborough,  glass  cups,  bowls  and  beads,  would  perhaps 
have  been  found  in  the  same  shop.  Another  store  which 
the  traveller  might  visit  was  that  of  the  local  apothecary. 
The  elaborate  surgical  instruments,  some  of  them  so 
strikingly  like  those  still  in  use,  which  have  been  discovered 
at  Pompeii,  have  not  as  yet  been  met  with  in  Britain,  though 
a  surgical  lancet  has  been  found  at  Uriconium.  At  several 
places,  however,  stamps  have  been  found  which  were  used 
by  oculists  to  mark  the  wax  on  the  tops  of  their  pots  of 


^  a:vT  1 5^  q.a  AT3.S3  oiht-d 


Fig.  52. — Oculist's  Stamp.  The  inscription  is  for  an  ointment — 
"  Ad  Cicatrices  et  Aspritudines  " — for  scars  and  roughnesses. 
(Scot.  Ant.  Mus. ) 


ointment.  One  of  these,  discovered  also  at  Uriconium, 
betrays  the  same  touching  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  his 
remedy  to  cure  all  ills  that  marks  the  patent  medicine  man 
of  our  own  time.  It  is  circular  and  bears  an  inscription, 
which,  translated  reads  :  "  The  dialibanum  (or  eye-salve)  of 
Tiberius  Claudius,  the  physician,  for  all  complaints  of  the 
eyes,  to  be  used  with  eggs." 

Another  found  at  Bath  belonged  to  a  physician  called  Titus 
Junianus,  and  bore  a  different  inscription  on  each  of  its  four 
sides,  so  as  to  be  used  for  the  stamping  of  pots  of  ointment 
of  various  qualities.  The  first  of  these  seems  to  have  been 
employed  in  cases  of  cataract,  the  second  is  a  cerusoms- 


148  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

linum,  or  golden  ointment,  the  third  probably  an  astringent 
eye  lotion  made  of  galls  or  some  part  of  the  oak,  and  the 
fourth  is  more  doubtful  in  its  meaning,  but  is  said  to  be 
"  delicta  a  medicis,"  or  as  we  should  now  put  it,  "  recom- 
mended by  the  faculty." 

Passing  to  another  part  of  the  city  the  visitor  would 
probably  be  anxious  to  inspect  the  baths,  so  essential  a 
feature  of  every  Roman  town.  So  devoted  were  the 
Romans  to  their  baths  that  it  is  said  that  there  were  at 
one  time  as  many  as  850  of  these  establishments  in  the 
city  of  Rome,  and  that  some  of  them  were  capable  of 
accommodating  several  thousand  bathers.  The  Roman 
bath  closely  resembled  the  Turkish  bath  of  to-day,  which 
is  indeed  its  lineal  descendant.  The  arrangement  of  such 
a  bath  is  sufficiently  well  known  to  render  any  descrip- 
tion of  its  ancient  representative  unnecessary,  so  that  it  will 
suffice  to  say  that  in  addition  to  the  processes  with  which 
we  are  familiar  the  bather  was  oiled  all  over  in  the  apody- 
terium,  a  large  chamber  where  he  left  his  clothes,  and  that 
an  additional  room,  called  the  sphseristerium,  was  provided 
in  which  games  were  played  and  athletic  exercises  performed. 
One  of  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Romano-British  baths  is 
that  at  Bath,  a  place  long  noted  for  its  constant  supply  of 
hot  water,  charged  with  salts  of  great  benefit  in  gouty 
ailments.  The  Britons,  who  appear  to  have  known  these 
waters  before  the  coming  of  the  Romans,  had  placed  them 
under  the  patronage  of  one  of  their  goddesses  named  Sul. 
This  personage  was  equated  by  the  Romans  with  Minerva, 
and  altars  dedicated  to  the  goddess  under  the  double  name, 
"  Deee  Suliminervre,"  have  been  found  at  Bath.  Large 
portions  of  the  Roman  baths  have  been  uncovered, 
including  an  oblong  bath  with  steps  leading  down  into  it, 
on  which  the  bathers  could  sit,  which  measured  S3  ft.  by 
30  ft.,  and  a  circular  bath  25  ft.  in  diameter.  At  Silchester 
extensive  baths  have  also  been  exposed,  no  less  than  sixteen 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF    BRITAIN      149 


ISO  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

chambers  having  been  laid  bare.  Amongst  these  are  the 
praefurnium,  or  furnace,  where  the  heat  for  the  sweating- 
rooms  and  water  was  obtained,  chambers  with  hypocausts 
beneath  them,  a  large  apodyterium,  and  a  swimming-bath. 
The  modern  visitor  to  any  town  cannot  be  said  to  have  fully 
explored  it  until  he  has  seen  its  principal  churches,  and  our 
traveller  would  find  numerous  temples  in  any  city  which  he 
visited,  though  few  traces  of  such  now  exist.  We  know, 
however,  from  history  that  there  was  a  temple  to  Claudius 
at  Camulodunum  (Colchester),  and  an  inscription  com- 
memorates the  building  of  another  to  Neptune  and  Minerva 
at  Regnum  (Chichester).  The  remains  of  a  temple  to 
Suliminerva  at  Bath  are  of  a  debased  Corinthian  style  of 
architecture,  and  others  have  been  discovered  at  Caerleon, 
Silchester  and  elsewhere.  Various  inscriptions  which  have 
been  discovered  tell  us  of  the  foundation  or  restoration  of 
temples  which  have  now  disappeared.  Besides  this  there 
are  numerous  altars  with  inscriptions  dedicating  them  to 
Roman  or  British  divinities,  such  as  that  discovered  at 
Tarraby  on  the  Roman  wall,  the  inscription  of  which  when 
translated  reads  :  "  The  second  sacred  Augustan  Legion, 
under  the  charge  of  .-T^vliatms,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Second  Legion,  Oppius  Felix  being  his  Deputy  Lieutenant, 
dedicate  this  altar  to  ]\Lirs,  the  great  local  Deity ;  and  took 
care  to  have  it  set  up."  Two  others  found  at  Chester  are 
dedicated  respectively  to  "  Nymphis  et  Fontibus "  (the 
nymphs  and  fountains)  and  "  Genio  loci  "  (the  genius  of  the 
place).  Perhaps  one  of  the  most  interesting  buildings, 
however,  of  a  religious  character,  is  the  early  Christian 
basilica  recently  discovered  at  Silchester.  This  small 
edifice  stood  east  and  west,  and  consisted  of  a  central 
portion  29  j  ft.  long  and  10  ft.  wide,  with  a  semicircular 
apse  at  the  west  end.  North  and  south  of  this  were  two 
narrow  aisles  only  5  ft.  wide,  terminating  westwards  in  some- 
what wider  chambers  or  quasi-transepts;  the  northern  of  these 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION   OF   BRITAIN      151 

was  cut  off  from  the  aisle  by  a  thin  partition  waU.  The 
eastern  end  of  the  building  was  covered  by  a  porch,  extend- 
ing the  whole  widtti  of  the  three  main  divisions.  The 
central  division  retains  considerable  portions  of  its  floor  of 
coarse  red-tile  tessarje,  or  cubes,  with,  just  in  front  of  the 
apse,  a  panel  5  ft.  square  of  finer  mosaic.  The  design 
of  this  panel  consists  mainly  of  four  squares  filled  with 
black  and  white  checkers,  around  which  is  a  border  of  red 
and  black  tessara^  with  an  outer  edging  of  white.  "  It  is 
generally  assumed,"  says  the  account  by  Mr.  St.  John  Hope, 
from  which  the  above  facts  have  been  extracted,  "  that  in  a 
church  like  this,  with  the  altar  at  the  west  end  instead  of 
the  east,*  the  celebrant  stood  during  Mass  behind  the  altar 
and  facing  eastwards,  this  eastward  position  being  the 
essential  thing,  and  not  the  position  of  the  altar  in  the 
building.  The  clergy  were  arranged  in  a  semicircle  around 
the  apse,  behind  the  celebrant,  and  the  deacons  stood  in 
front  and  on  either  side.  The  choir  of  singers  occupied  the 
western  part  of  the  nave. 

"  The  state  here  of  the  red  tesselation  of  the  nave  and  apse 
raises,  however,  some  unexpected  difficulties.  In  the  first 
place,  there  is  so  little  room  between  the  mosaic  panel  and 
the  apse  wall  that  there  cannot  have  been  any  seat  here  for 
the  clergy.  In  the  next  place,  the  floor  of  the  apse,  which 
extends  right  up  to  the  wall,  not  only  shows  no  signs  of  wear, 
but  the  edges  of  the  tessarai  are  so  sharp  that  it  is  quite 
certain  that  they  cannot  have  been  walked  upon  for  even  a 
very  short  period.  The  mosaic  panel  is  also  not  worn  at 
all.  East  of  the  panel,  on  the  other  hand,  the  red  tessarae 
are  considerably  worn,  and  those  on  each  side  also  show 

*  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  altar  stood  upon 
the  panel  of  fine  mosaic  in  front  of  the  apse,  and  that  it  was  at  first 
a  wooden  table.  Some  small  patches  of  pink  cement  upon  the 
surface  of  the  mosaic  seem,  however,  to  show  that  the  wooden  altar 
was  replaced  at  a  later  time  by  a  more  substantial  one  in  stone  or 
marble. 


152  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

signs  of  wear.  The  eastern  position  of  the  celebrant  was  so 
universally  the  custom  of  the  Church  that  the  floor  ought 
certainly  to  show  traces  of  wear  on  the  west  side  of  the 
altar,  but  this  it  does  not,  and  the  conclusion  therefore 
seems  inevitable  that  the  apse  floor  had  been  relaid  just 
before  the  destruction  of  the  building  (which  is  unlikely),  or 
that  the  tessarse  were  effectually  protected  by  being  con- 
stantly covered  by  a  mat  or  carpet. 

"  To  the  east  of  the  church  is  a  tile  foundation  about  4  ft. 
square.  This  is  clearly  the  place  of  the  labrum,  or  laver,  in 
which  the  faithful  used  to  wash  their  hands  and  faces  before 
entering  the  church,  and  the  shallow  pit  in  front  was  pro- 
bably covered  by  a  pierced  stone,  and  served  to  carry  off 
the  waste  water.  The  water  itself  could  be  obtained  from 
the  well  west  of  the  church,  to  which,  as  there  are  no  other 
buildings  near,  it  seems  to  have  belonged." 

It  is  probable  that  in  many  of  the  cities  the  traveller 
might  have  found  a  theatre,  but  only  in  one,  Verulamium, 
or  St.  Albans,  have  any  remains  of  such  a  building  been  dis- 
covered. This  theatre  was  a  little  over  190  ft.  in  diameter. 
Its  two  outer  walls  were  on  the  plan  of  a  Greek  theatre, 
comprising  240  degrees  of  a  circle,  and  between  them 
was  a  corridor  9  ft.  wide.  This  was  not  continuous  all 
round,  but  was  interrupted  by  stairs  and  walls.  The  stage 
was  46  ft.  long  and  8  ft.  9  in.  deep.  At  its  east  side  was 
a  room  with  a  coarse  tesselated  pavement,  which  was  set 
apart  for  the  players — in  fact,  the  green  room.  The  walls 
were  painted  in  fresco  after  the  manner  customary  to  such 
buildings,  and  when  discovered  the  colours  were  quite 
fresh. 

In  Silchester  a  range  of  buildings  has  been  discovered, 
which  has  been  conjecturally  called  the  cavalry  barracks. 
Whether  such  was  its  real  purpose  or  not,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  these  large  cities  must  have  been  provided  with 
accommodation  for  the  soldiers  stationed  in  them.     From 


THE   ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      15: 


n 


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154  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

the  inscriptions  on  tombstones  and  altars,  to  which  allusion 
has  already  been  made,  and  from  the  marks  on  tiles  and,  in 
the  case  of  the  Roman  Wall,  on  the  stone  quarries,  whence 
they  obtained  their  building  materials,  a  very  good  idea  can 
be  formed  of  the  position  of  the  various  legions  whose  head- 
quarters were  situated  in  this  country.  Each  of  these  legions 
had,  like  many  modern  regiments,  a  sub-title,  besides  the 
number  which  it  officially  bore.  Thus  the  sixth  legion  was 
called,  "  Victrix  "  and  the  second  "Augusta."  The  head- 
quarters of  the  former  was  at  York,  of  the  latter  at  Caerleon, 
and  of  the  twentieth,  whose  title  was  Victoria  Victrix,  or 
Valens  Victrix,  at  Chester. 

There  would  still  remain  for  our  traveller,  after  he  had 
seen  the  various  objects  of  interest  mentioned  in  this  chap- 
ter, the  group  of  buildings  which  constituted  the  great  body 
of  the  town,  the  villas  or  houses  of  its  residents.  It  will,  how- 
ever, be  more  convenient  to  describe  the  private  residence 
of  a  Roman  gentleman  as  it  existed  in  the  country,  and  this 
will  form  a  part  of  the  next  chapter.  It  would  not,  however, 
be  right  to  leave  the  city  without  alluding  to  the  system  of 
drains  which  it  possessed.  An  important  work  of  this  kind, 
constructed  on  a  similar  model  to  the  Cloaca  Maxima  at 
Rome,  has  been  found  at  Colchester. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN 

— continued 

The  Roman  Villa — Hypocausts — Tesselated  pavements — 
Chedworth  Villa — Mines — Methods  of  Burial — The  Roman 
Wall — Nature  of  the  Roman  occupation. 

The  villa,  in  the  country  especially,  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  Roman  occupation  of  the  land,  formed  an  extensive 
series  of  buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  some  wealthy 
person,  his  family,  servants,  and  workmen.  It  consisted,  as 
a  rule,  of  three  parts,  the  villa  urbana,  which  contained  the 
dining-  and  sitting-rooms,  bed-chambers,  baths,  and  apart- 
ments of  the  family  generally,  the  villa  rustica,  for  the 
slaves,  workmen,  and  stables,  and  the  villa  fructuaria, 
where  were  the  corn  and  oil  stores,  barns,  granaries,  and 
such  like  necessary  ofifices. 

These  buildings  usually  occupied  four  sides  of  a  square, 
forming  a  quadrangle,  round  the  inner  faces  of  which  ran  a 
verandah,  or  cryptoporticus,  by  which  access  was  gained  to 
the  various  rooms,  and  into  which  their  windows  looked. 
Thus  the  maximum  protection  from  rain  and  storms  was 
obtained.  These  windows,  in  Britain  at  least,  were  usually 
glazed  with  sheets  of  crown  or  plate  glass.  In  some  cases 
ground  glass  was  employed,  and  there  were  even  instances 
in  which  windows  were  composed  of  coloured  glass,  alto- 
gether a  striking  contrast  to  the  inadequate  casements  of 
Saxon  and  Norman  times.     As  all  traces  of  these  buildings 


156  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

save  their  floors  and  the  lower  parts  of  their  walls  have  dis- 
appeared, it  is  impossible  to  say  with  absolute  certainty 
whether  they  consisted  of  more  than  one  story,  but  as  we 
known  that  the  ancient  Romans  entertained  the  greatest 
objection  to  sleeping  on  the  ground  floor  of  a  house,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  their  houses  consisted  of  two,  or 
perhaps  even  of  three  stories,  and  that  the  bed-chambers 
were  on  the  upper  floors.  It  is,  however,  highly  probable 
that  these  upper  stories,  and  possibly  also  the  upper  part  of 
the  walls  of  the  ground  floor,  were  made  of  wood,  whilst 
only  the  lower  part  of  the  latter  was  constructed  of  stone. 
These  walls  would  consist  of  wooden  frames  with  the  inter- 
spaces filled  in  with  "  wattle  and  daub,"  in  fact  they  would 
closely  resemble  the  old  "  half-timber  houses "  of  a  later 
date,  before  the  interstices  of  the  framing  timbers  had  been 
filled  in,  as  they  so  often  have  been,  by  bricks.  The  roofs 
were  covered  perhaps  in  some  cases  with  the  tiles  which  the 
Romans  made  in  such  numbers,  but  in  the  south-west  of 
England  it  was  customary  to  use  for  this  purpose  small  slabs 
of  oolite,  now  called  "  Stonesfield  slates,"  which  were  cut  into 
a  lozenge  shape,  and  drilled  with  holes  so  that  they  might  be 
attached  to  the  roof  timbers  by  nails.  It  is  very  possible 
that  these  may  also  have  been  fastened  on  the  outsides  of 
the  walls  as  a  further  protection  against  the  weather.  The 
rooms  were  warmed  by  hypocausts  and  flue-tiles,  a  method 
which  has  been  several  times  alluded  to,  and  must  now  be 
more  fully  described.  In  constructing  a  room  on  the 
ground  floor,  a  series  of  pillars  (pila^)  were  erected,  either  of 
stones  or  of  bricks,  laid  on  top  of  one  another.  On  these 
a  continuous  floor  of  red  tiles  was  laid  down,  so  that,  as  in 
some  of  our  modern  houses,  there  was  a  space  some  two 
or  more  feet  in  depth  between  the  actual  floor  of  the  room 
and  the  subjacent  earth.  This  space  was  called  the  hypo- 
caust.  On  the  layer  of  brick  slabs,  which  was  called  the 
suspensura,    was    laid   down    a   stratum,    about    6    in.    in 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      157 

thickness,  of  concrete,  formed  of  pounded  bricks  and  lime, 
which  formed  the  foundation  for  the  actual  tesselated  floor 
of  the  room.  This  consisted  of  patterns,  often  of  a  highly 
complicated  nature,  formed  in  a  mosaic,  composed  of  cubes 
of  stone  of  various  colours,  of  brick,  terra-cotta,  and,  in  rare 
instances,  of  glass.  In  Cirencester  the  materials  used  were, 
for  white,  chalk  ;  for  cream  colour,  hard  fine-grained  oolite ; 
for  grey,  the  same  altered  by  fire ;  for  yellow,  also  oolite ; 


Fig.  55. — Hypocaust  at  Corinium  (Cirencester).  (Wright.)  One 
of  the  pilag  supporting  the  floor  is  of  stone,  the  others  are  of 
tiles.  Between  the  last  row  and  the  wall  on  the  left  is  a  row 
of  upright  flue  tiles,  and  in  the  wall  itself  are  two  apertures 
for  conveying  the  hot  air. 


for  chocolate,  old  red  sandstone ;  for  slate-colour  and  black, 
stone  from  the  lower  lias.  The  various  shades  of  red  and 
also  black  were  made  of  brick  or  terra-cotta,  and  in  one 
case,  the  transparent  ruby  colours  of  the  flowers  surrounding 
a  head  of  Flora  were  composed  of  pieces  of  glass. 

Such  floors  may  still  be  seen  in  the  halls  of  public  and 
even  private  buildings  of  modern  erection,  and  they  have 
the  advantages  of  being  durable,  beautiful  and  easily  cleaned. 
A  large  number  of  such  pavements  have  been  discovered 


158 


LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 


in  this  country  and  will  be  found  figured  and  described  in 
Morgan's  work  on  "  Romano-British  Mosaic  Pavements." 
A  favourite  subject  for  such  a  floor  was  that  of  Orpheus, 

who  is  represented  in  the 
centre  of  the  pavement  with 
his  lute,  surrounded  by  the 
birds  and  beasts  whom  he 
had  charmed  by  its  strains. 

A  description  of  one  ela- 
borate pavement  found  at 
Cirencester,  and  described 
by  Buckman  and  Newmarch, 
must  suffice  as  an  example 
of  the  more  ambitious  efforts 
of  this  kind.  It  consisted 
of  nine  medallions,  each  of 
which  was  nearly  5  ft.  in 
diameter  ;  these  were  in- 
cluded in  an  octagonal  frame, 
formed  of  a  continuous 
twisted  guilloche,  in  which 
bright  red  and  yellow  tessarte 
prevailed.  Within  all  the 
octagons,  with  the  exception 
of  the  central  one,  were 
central  medallions,  surrounded  also  by  the  twisted  guilloche, 
but  with  tessarai  of  a  subdued  colour,  in  which  olive  green 
and  white  prevailed,  this  arrangement  giving  greater  brilliancy 
and  effect  to  the  pictorial  subjects  within  each  circle,  which 
was  greatly  heightened  by  inner  circles  of  black  frets,  of 
various  kinds,  in  the  different  medallions.  The  central 
medallion  was  distinguished  from  the  rest  by  a  double 
twisted  guilloche  circle,  in  which  black,  green,  ruby  red, 
yellow  and  white  were  the  colours  employed.  The  inter- 
vening spaces,  arising  from  this  arrangement,  consisted  of 


Fig.  56. — Orpheus  with  his  Lute, 
executed  in  tessara;.  Part 
of  a  Roman  pavement  at  Cir- 
encester. (After  a  figure  in 
the  ArchcEolos'ical  Journal. ) 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      159 

square  and  triangular  lozenges^  which  had  plain  black  frets 
internally.  The  borders  presented  the  continuation  of  the 
bright  coloured  twisted  guilloche,  forming  the  whole  within 
a  square ;  then  followed  a  guilloche  of  a  colder  tone,  which 
was  succeeded  by  the  labyrinthine  and  the  triangular  black 
frets,  finished  by  a  wide  border  of  greyish  tessarse,  which 
was  relieved  by  a  central  line  of  few  rows  of  the  white  ones. 
The  pictorial  representations  of  the  medallions  formed  two 
series,  one  consisting  of  groups,  the  other  of  heads,  symbo- 
lical of  the  seasons.     In   the  centre  is  a  much  mutilated 


Fig.  57. — A  Lion  executed  in  tessaras.  One  of  the  figures  of 
animals  around  the  figure  of  Orplieus  in  the  Cirencester 
pavement.     (After  a  figure  in  the  Archcsological  Journal.) 


representation  of  the  Centaur,  and  the  other  groups  consist 
of  Act^eon  and  his  dogs  ;  Silenus,  with  his  wine-cup,  seated 
upon  an  ass  ;  Bacchus  and,  probably,  his  panther.  The 
heads  are  of  Flora,  Ceres,  and  Pomona,  typifying  Spring, 
Summer  and  Autumn,  the  fourth  head,  which  no  doubt 
represented  Winter,  having  disappeared.  Such  a  floor, 
however  beautiful  and  cleanly,  would  suffer  from  the  dis- 
advantage of  being  exceedingly  cold,  and  as  the  Romans, 
who  were  natives  of  a  warmer  clime,  had  already  enough  to 
suffer  in  this  direction,  they  combated  the  double  effects  of 
the  climate  and  of  their  cold  floors  by  introducing  beneath 
the  latter  in  the  hypocaust  a  constant  supply  of  hot  air  from 


i6o  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

a  prrefurnium,  or  furnace,  the  heat  and  smoke  from  which 
circulated  amongst  the  pilte  and  was,  in  many  cases  at  least, 
carried  off  through  hollow  bricks  or  flue-tiles  laid  in  the 
walls  and  terminating,  as  we  learn  from  a  mosaic  of  an 
Algerian  house,  in  chimney-stacks,  with  pots  and  cowls  like 
those  of  the  present  day.  Thus  not  only  the  floor  but  the 
walls  radiated  hot  air  and  must  have  maintained  an  equable 
and  comfortable  temperature  throughout  the  house.  The 
upper  rooms  would,  of  course,  only  be  warmed  by  the 
flue-tiles.  As  wood  was  almost  exclusively  used  for 
fuel,  there  would  be  but  little  soot,  and  thus  the  difficult 
task  of  cleaning  such  exceedingly  narrow  flues  would  be 
obviated. 

In  towns,  at  least,  as  Professor  Middleton  points  out, 
there  was  a  regular  water  supply,  large  lead  mains  being 
laid  under  the  paving  of  the  streets,  and  rising  mains 
branching  off  right  and  left  to  the  houses.  These  led  up 
to  cisterns  on  the  upper  floors,  from  whence  descending 
supply-pipes  were  laid  on  to  various  parts  of  the  house, 
exactly  as  in  our  modern  system.  Air-chambers  were  often 
introduced  to  diminish  the  risk  of  pipes  bursting  from  the 
hydraulic  pressure,  the  confined  air  acting  as  a  spring.  A 
cubical  lead  box  was  usually  placed  at  the  point  where  the 
rising  main  to  the  house  branched  off  from  the  street  main  ; 
this  seems  rather  a  clumsy  way  of  making  a  junction,  but  it 
apparently  answered  its  purpose  very  well.  Very  neatly- 
made  water-cocks  and  draw-taps  of  bronze  were  used,  and 
the  turncocks  in  the  mains  had  movable  key-handles  like 
those  now  in  use.  The  draw-taps  were  very  like  those  used 
in  Italy,  often  formed  in  the  shape  of  an  animal's  head,  with 
handles  either  fixed,  or,  more  often,  movable  ;  they  are 
frequently  very  graceful  in  form,  and  are  always  very  skilfully 
made  and  fitted  so  as  to  avoid  leakage. 

The  interior  of  the  walls  was  covered  first  with  a  layer  of 
plaster,  on  which  was  spread  a  finer  composition,  on  which 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      i6i 

again  were  executed,  in  fresco,  bands  or  simple  patterns  in 
various  colours. 

It  will  perhaps  be  well  to  give  a  fairly  complete  account 
of  one  villa,  which  may  serve  as  an  example  of  the  dwelling- 


iQlOFri 


Fig.  58. — Plan  of  Chedworth  Villa.  .4 ,  Chamber  with  tesselated 
pavement  ;  B,  bath ;  C,  sweating  chamber  ;  D,  room  with 
pilas  of  hypocaust  in  situ  ;  E,  prcefurnium  or  heating  chamber 
of  bath ;  F,  possibly  the  forge.  Here  pigs  of  iron  were 
found.  The  buildings  represented  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
figure  form  the  Villa  Rustica. 


place  of  the  Roman  period,  and  for  this  purpose  that  at 
Chedworth,  not  far  from  Cheltenham  and  amongst  the 
Cotswold  Hills,  may  be  selected.  This  villa  occupies  three 
sides  of  a  square,  and  so  far  as  has  at  present  been  made 
out,  did  not  possess  that  part  known  as  the  Fructuaria.  In 
the  first  part  of  the  Urbana  were  a  series  of  rooms  whose 
tesselated  pavements  are  much  mutilated.     The  larger  of 


i62  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

these  rooms  has  a  tesselated  pavement  representing  a  dance, 
apparently  emblematical  of  the  seasons,  as  one  of  the  figures, 
which  may  represent  winter,  is  warmly  clad,  and  carries  in 
his  arms  a  hare  or  rabbit.  These  were  probably  the  living 
rooms  of  the  house,  and  next  to  them  was  the  bath,  which 
formed  a  part  of  every  respectable  house,  and  was  modelled 
on  those  of  the  city,  though  of  course  on  a  much  smaller 
scale.  The  amount  of  wear  to  which  the  stone  step,  leading 
out  of  the  hot  room,  has  been  subjected,  shows  the  length 
of  time  during  which  this  villa  must  have  been  occupied, 
and  the  extensive  use  to  which  the  bath  was  put.  At  right 
angles  to  this  group  of  buildings  is  a  second  row,  the 
Rustica,  containing  the  rooms  of  the  servants,  also  provided 
with  baths.  A  small  building  in  the  grounds  contains  a 
pool,  which  may  have  been  used  for  the  storage  of  live  fish, 
and  an  altar,  and  there  is  a  lime-kiln  in  the  immediate 
vicinity.  The  numerous  pigs  of  iron  which  have  been  found 
in  this  villa  seem  to  show  that  amongst  the  offices  attached 
to  it  was  a  forge,  no  doubt  a  very  necessary  part  of  a  Roman 
provincial's  establishment.  One  of  the  most  interesting 
things  about  this  villa  is  the  discovery  which  has  been 
made,  under  the  foundation  stone  of  the  main  entrance, 
of  the  Greek  letters  x  ^'"'d  p,  forming  in  combination  the 
first  two  letters  of  the  name  of  Christ.  A  similar  pair  of 
letters  has  been  discovered  in  four  other  instances  in  this 
villa,  and  their  occurrence  leads  to  the  belief  that  its 
occupant  was  a  Christian  Roman.  On  this  account  some 
have  surmised  that  the  small  building  with  the  pool,  already 
alluded  to,  may  have  been  a  baptistery,  but  it  is  scarcely 
probable  that  this  is  a  correct  explanation  of  its  purpose. 
In  this  villa  have  been  found  a  number  of  knives,  hinges, 
keys,  locks  and  spoons,  also  a  steelyard  for  weighing.  These 
and  other  objects  connected  with  the  villa  are  placed  in  a 
small  museum  on  the  spot,  and  all  the  remains  have  been 
carefully  protected  from  cold  and  damp,  and  preserved  in  a 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF    BRITAIN      163 

manner  which  may  serve  as  a  model  for  other  proprietors  of 
Roman  antiquities. 

Mention  was  made  some  pages  back  of  the  leaden  water- 
pipes  of  the  Roman  cities,  and  this  leads  to  a  mention  of  the 
mining  operations  of  the  Romans,  which  enabled  them  to 
procure  the  lead  and  other  minerals  which  they  used  in  their 
numerous  manufactures.  They  appear  to  have  mined  lead 
extensively  in  the  Mendip  Hills,  where  many  traces  of  their 
operations  are  visible.  Indeed,  a  pavement,  now  unfortu- 
nately destroyed,  which  was  apparently  inspired  by  scenes 
of  a  mining  nature,  was  found  at  a  villa  at  Pitney  in 
Somersetshire.  In  one  of  the  apartments  of  this  villa  was 
a  pavement  containing,  in  a  square,  nine  whole-length 
human  figures,  each  four  feet  in  height.  The  central  figure 
was  probably  that  of  the  owner  of  the  villa,  holding  a  cup 
of  coin  in  his  hands  to  pay  his  dependents.  The  remaining 
figures  were  male  and  female  alternately,  and  bore  in  their 
hands  the  different  instruments  still  in  use  for  smelting  ore, 
such  as  rakes,  forks,  pincers,  and  long  iron  rods,  crooked 
and  straight ;  also  canisters,  or  smelting-pots,  from  which 
coin  is  dropping.  The  same  metal  was  also  obtained  at 
Snead  and  other  mines,  near  Bishop's  Castle  in  Shropshire ; 
and  a  large  pig  of  lead  was  found  in  that  district,  together 
with  Roman  spades  in  what  is  called  the  Roman  Gravels 
Mine,  which  bears  the  stamp 

IMP  HADRIANI  AVG. 

and  is  now  in  the  Mason  College  Museum.  Copper  mines 
of  Roman  date  exist  at  Llanymynech  in  Shropshire,  where, 
in  a  large  shaft  called  the  Ogo,  or  hole,  several  skeletons, 
together  with  some  tools  and  coins  of  the  reign  of  Anto- 
ninus, were  found  in  1761.  Similar  mines  have  also  been 
found  near  Machynlleth  in  Wales.  Iron  was  chiefly  worked 
in  the  Forest  of  Dean  and  along  the  Wye,  where  great 
quantities  of  scoriae  and  ashes  have  been  found,  in  such 


i64  LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

bulk,  in  fact,  at  one  place  as  to  have  procured  for  it  the 
name  of  Cinderford.  Under  Great  Doward  Hill,  near  the 
Wye,  there  is  the  remains  of  an  excavation  called  King 
Arthur's  Hall,  which  was  a  Roman  mine.  The  Forest  of 
Anderida,  which  occupied  the  Weald  of  Sussex  and  Kent, 
was  another  source  of  iron  ;  and  in  the  Midlands  the  Roman 
town  of  Alauna,  now  Alcester,  was  a  place  where  iron  was 
smelted.  Tin  was  worked  in  Cornwall  before  the  Roman 
occupation,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  this  mineral  was 
also  mined  by  them  in  the  same  county.  It  is  highly 
probable  that  they  obtained  silver,  and  even  possible  that 
they  may  have  found  gold  in  this  country. 

In  the  case  of  former  races  who  have  occupied  this  land 
we  have  seen  that  valuable  information  as  to  their  habits 
and  possessions  has  been  afforded  to  archasologists  by  the 
remains  which  have  been  found  in  their  graves.  In  the 
case  of  the  Romans  we  have  so  many  other  sources  of 
information  on  w'hich  to  rely  that  the  interments  take  quite 
a  secondary  place,  but  they  must  not  be  completely  passed 
over. 

The  Romans  dealt  with  their  dead  either  by  cremation 
or  by  burial  of  the  unburnt  corpse.  In  the  former  case 
the  body  was  burnt  outside  the  city,  as  cremation  within 
the  walls  was  forbidden  by  the  laws  of  the  Twelve  Tables. 
A  coin  was  placed  in  the  mouth  for  the  payment  of 
Charon,  the  ferryman  of  the  nether  regions,  and  the  body 
was  consumed  on  a  pyre,  either  in  the  burial  ground,  or,  in 
the  cases  of  wealthy  persons,  in  some  private  place  of 
cremation.  The  common  burning-places  were  called 
ustrina,  and  remains  of  such  have  been  discovered  in  a 
Roman  cemetery  at  Littlington,  near  Royston.  This 
cemetery  is  enclosed  within  strong  walls,  which  form  a 
square  of  390  feet.  At  two  of  the  corners  level  spaces,  free 
from  interments  but  covered  with  ashes,  mark  the  sites  of 
ustrina.     The   ashes,   resulting    from    the   cremation,  were 


THE   ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF   BRITAIN      165 

placed  in  glass  or  pottery  urns,  and  buried  with  various 
objects,  such  as  lachrymatories  or  tear  bottles,  lamps,  vases, 
&c.  A  group  of  Roman  tumuli  called  the  Bartlow  Hills 
exists  on  the  borders  of  Essex  and  Cambridgeshire.  One  of 
of  these,  when  opened,  presented  a  wooden  sepulchral 
chamber,  which  contained  a  glass  vessel  with  charred  bones 
in  it,  several  other  glass,  bronze  and  earthenware  vessels, 
a  bronze  lamp,  a  folding  seat,  and  two  bronze  strigils, 
or    scrapers,    such   as   were   used  in  the   bath.     Professor 


Fig.  59. — Contents  of  a  Roman  Sepulchre  discovered  at  Avisford 
in  Sussex.  (Wright.)  The  square  bottle,  of  green  glass,  in 
the  centre  contained  calcined  bones.  Around  it  were  arranged 
on  the  floor  three  earthen  vases  with  handles,  several  paterre, 
a  pair  of  sandals  (to  the  left)  studded  with  numerous  hexagonal 
brass  nails,  an  oval  dish  containing  a  transparent  agate  of  the 
size  and  shape  of  a  pigeon's  egg,  and  a  small  double-handled 
glass  bottle.  Three  lamps  were  placed  on  supporting  projec- 
tions of  the  stone. 


Henslow  was  present  at  the  opening  of  another  sepulchral 
chamber  at  Rougham,  in  Suffolk,  and  has  given  an  account 
of  its  structure  and  contents.  It  consisted  of  four  walls  of 
bricks  and  mortar,  covered  with  a  roof  of  tiles,  the  interior 
depth  being  2  ft.  3  in.  "On  removing  one  of  the  smaller 
tiles  in  the  upper  range,"  he  says,  "  I  had  the  satisfaction  of 
peeping  into  a  chamber  in  which  was  a  large  glass  vase, 
which  owing  to  the  joint  effects  of  time  and  corruption  had 
fallen  to  pieces ;  and  its  fragments  were  now  lying  towards 
the  north  corner,  in  a  confused  heap,  intermixed  with  the 


i66  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

burnt  human  bones  it  had  contained.  Upon  the  heap  was 
lying  a  beautiful  glass  lachrymatory,  slightly  injured  in  its 
projecting  rim.  Everything  else  was  entire,  and  eight 
pieces  of  pottery  appeared  still  to  retain  the  very  positions 
in  which  they  had  been  placed  by  the  sorrowing  friends  and 
attendants  of  the  deceased,  sixteen  or  seventeen  centuries 
before.  An  iron  rod  ten  inches  in  length  was  driven  firmly 
into  the  south-west  wall,  between  the  uppermost  courses  of 
bricks,  and  not  far  from  the  south  corner.  This  was 
directed  so  as  to  stretch  out  towards  the  centre  of  the 
chamber,  and  from  its  extremity  another  iron  rod  depended 
vertically,  twisted,  like  the  first,  in  the  manner  of  a  torque. 
To  the  bottom  of  this  was  attached  an  open  iron  lamp,  of 
rather  small  dimensions,  which  still  contained  a  lump  of 
carbonaceous  matter,  evidently  the  remains  of  the  wick." 

In  other  cases  where  the  body  was  interred  whole,  it  was 
placed  in  a  wooden,  clay,  stone,  or  lead  coffin,  together 
with  lachrymatories  and  other  objects.  In  the  case  of 
leaden  coffins,  an  ornamentation  of  scallop  shells,  rings, 
and  bead  or  fillet  mouldings  in  raised  relief,  is  found  on  the 
exterior,  and  the  corpse  seems  in  every  instance  to  have  been 
embedded  in  liquid  lime.  In  one  case  the  lime  in  a  stone 
sarcophagus  retained  a  perfect  cast  of  the  female  form  which 
it  had  contained. 

Any  account  of  the  Roman  remains  in  Britain  would  be 
incomplete  without  some  notice  of  the  Ron\in  Wall,  which 
has  been  so  fully  described  by  Dr.  Collingwood  Bruce. 
This  remarkable  undertaking  stretched  for  seventy-three 
and  a  half  miles  from  Wall's  End  in  the  east  to  Bowness  in 
the  west,  and  was  intended  to  guard  the  province  from  the 
attacks  of  the  savage  tribes  of  the  northern  part  of  the 
island.  On  its  northern  side  runs  a  trench,  which  keeps 
close  to  it,  and  is  only  discontinued  when  the  wall  skirts  a 
cliff,  where  it  would  have  been  of  no  service.  Its  average 
depth  is  fifteen  feet  and  its  width    thirty-five.     The  wall 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION   OF    BRITAIN      167 

itself  was  of  stone  obtained  from  the  quarries  of  the  district, 
some  of  which  contain  inscriptions  recording  the  legions 
and  their  commanders  who  had  been  engaged  upon  the 
work.  It  was  about  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  in  height,  six  to 
nine  feet  in  thickness,  and  carried  a  parapet. 

Along  the  wall  were  situated  various  groups  of  buildings, 
intended  for  the  accommodation  of  the  troops  which  guarded 
the  frontier.  The  largest  of  these  were  the  stations,  which 
were  in  fact  small  towns,  covering  from  five  and  a  half  to 
five  and  three-quarters  of  an  acre.  Each  had  its  own  walls 
and  gates,  and  contained  houses  of  a  much  plainer  type 
than  those  in  the  more  sheltered  cities  of  the  south.  It  is 
probable  that  these  stations  were  erected  prior  to  the  wall 
itself  for  the  protection  of  the  soldiers  engaged  in  its  con- 
struction. There  were  about  seventeen  or  eighteen  of 
them — that  is,  there  was  one  about  every  four  miles.  The 
remains  of  several  exist,  those  of  Borcovicus,  now  called 
Housesteads,  being  the  most  perfect.  At  intervals  of  a  mile 
were  erected  castella,  quadrangular  buildings,  measuring 
fifty  by  sixty  feet,  and  having  two  gates,  and  between  each 
of  these,  at  distances  of  about  three  hundred  feet  from  one 
another,  were  four  watch-towers.  Thus  the  wall  was  most 
completely  guarded  from  one  end  to  the  other.  On  the  south 
side  of  the  wall  was  a  rampart  or  vallum,  consisting  of  a  trench 
and  three  walls  made  partly  of  earth,  partly  of  stone.  This 
rampart  does  not  keep  close  up  to  the  wall  like  the  northern 
trench,  but  follows  an  easier  line  of  country,  whereas  the 
wall  seems  to  have  been  of  choice  placed  on  the  steepest  and 
most  difficult  spots.  It  is  also  not  quite  so  long  as  the  wall, 
falling  short  of  it  by  about  three  miles  at  each  end.  A 
military  road,  constructed  of  stone,  ran  all  along  the  wall  on 
its  southern  side,  and  between  it  and  the  rampart.  This 
road,  which  is  about  twenty  feet  wide,  did  not  hug  the  wall, 
but  took  the  shortest  way  between  one  camp  and  the  next. 
There  was  a  second  road  south  of  the  rampart.     Another 


i68  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

wall  still  further  north  connected  a  series  of  camps  and 
stretched  between  the  Firths  of  Forth  and  Clyde.  The 
remains  of  this  work  are  known  as  Graham's  Dyke.  We 
find,  then,  that  during  the  Roman  occupation  of  this  country 
it  presented,  at  least  so  far  as  the  cities  and  places  which 
the  Romans  themselves  occupied,  all  the  evidences  of  a 
high  state  of  civilisation,  a  civilisation  which  in  many  ways 
startlingly  resembles  that  of  our  own  day,  which  is  in  glaring 
contrast  to  the  period  which  succeeded  it,  and  which  makes 
us  feel  how  many  years  the  clock  was  put  back  by  ihe 
advent  of  the  barbarian  Saxons.  It  has  in  fact  taken 
us  fourteen  hundred  years  to  re-learn  the  lesson  that  it 
is  necessary  to  provide  public  baths  for  the  inhabitants  of 
our  large  cities.  But  it  may  be  asked  what  effect  the 
civilisation  of  their  masters  produced  upon  the  British 
inhabitants  of  the  land,  and  this  point  has  been  so  skilfully 
dealt  with  by  Mr.  Gomme,  that  I  shall  quote  his  observa- 
tions upon  it  /«  extenso.  "  That  the  Britons  could  not  and 
did  not  step  into  the  place  of  their  Roman  masters  (on  their 
departure)  seems,"  he  says,  "  to  be  shown  clearly  enough. 
At  any  rate,  so  far  as  my  own  opinion  is  concerned,  I 
cannot  ignore  the  importance  of  the  fact,  strangely  under- 
valued, if  not  overlooked,  by  all  historians,  that  the  British 
did  not  levy  a  national  or  imperial  force  to  stem  the  tide  of 
Saxon  conquest.  So  significant  a  fact  surely  suggests  that 
the  Roman  occupation  of  Britain  was  not  a  social  occupa- 
tion, but  a  military  one,  and  that  Roman  Britain  meant 
little  more  than  the  few  thousand  luxurious  occupiers  of  the 
villas,  the  merchants  of  the  cities,  together  with  the  various 
garrisons  in  the  military  stations  which  dominated  the 
country.  Let  it  be  granted  that  these  several  centres  of 
Roman  life  gathered  round  them  numerous  British  followers, 
and  by  this  means  permeated  a  portion  of  the  British  popu- 
lation with  Roman  manners  and  ideas.  But  such  influence 
as  we  have  here  cannot  have  affected  the  course  of  British 


THE    ROMAN    OCCUPATION    OF    BRITAIN      169 

history  in  any  considerable  degree.  It  is  true  that  when 
the  Roman  legions  left  Britain  they  had  transformed  the 
most  important  of  the  British  camps  into  military  stations 
of  great  strength,  and  connected  them  with  one  another  by 
a  vast  and  splendid  system  of  roadways,  along  which  troops 
could  march  to  the  relief  of  any  garrison  threatened  or 
attacked.  But  then  we  find  that  all  these  advantages  were 
not  made  available  at  a  time  when  the  bitterest  foe  of  these 
early  times  made  havoc  in  the  land.  And  yet  during  one 
bright  period  of  island  independence,  when  Carausius  defied 
the  imperial  power,  the  whole  military  system  of  Britain — 
land  forces  and  sea  forces  alike — was  in  full  and  successful 
operation,  giving  the  world  a  foretaste  of  what  could  be 
done  with  such  splendid  machinery.  But  Carausius  was  a 
Roman  soldier,  with  Roman  soldiers  under  him  ;  the  unity 
of  purpose  shown  by  his  action  was  the  result  of  the  Roman 
military  hold  upon  Britain.  But  there  is  no  unity  of 
purpose  after  the  departure  of  the  Roman  legions.  The 
contrast  between  the  united  effort  under  Carausius,  and  the 
action  of  the  British  tribes  when  real  necessity,  not  the 
personal  ambition  of  a  hero,  ought  to  have  called  forth  the 
best  efforts  of  a  whole  people,  presents  to  my  mind  the  true 
key  to  the  light  understanding  of  the  Roman  occupation  of 
Britain.  If  the  Romano-British  chiefs  and  princes  with 
their  followers,  betook  themselves  to  the  country  villas,  and 
to  the  towns,  when  these  places  became  deserted  by  their 
whilom  conquerors ;  if  they  there  carried  on  the  luxurious 
modes  of  life,  and  used  the  ornaments,  and  adopted  the 
social  ceremonial  of  the  Romans,  as  they  may  have  done 
according  to  the  evidence  of  archaeology,  the  evidence 
of  history  precludes  us  from  believing  that  they  also  adopted 
the  system  of  government  and  defence  which  lay  ready  to 
their  hands,  fresh  from  the  mould  of  Imperial  Rome. 
Such  a  system,  if  properly  carried  on,  would,  in  producing 
connected  British  action,  also  have  produced  the  germs  of 


lyo  LIFE   IN   EARLY   BRITAIN 

British  nationality.  How  little  indeed  was  the  chance 
of  this  is  fully  shown  by  the  results.  Roman  commanders 
or  their  descendants  might  be  represented  by  Aurelius 
Ambrosius  and  by  the  heroic  Arthur,  or  Artorius  as 
Mr.  Coote  has  so  acutely  identified  the  name ;  but  these 
and  other  chiefs,  even  if  they  themselves  lived  up  in  thought 
and  aspiration  to  the  traditions  of  their  ancestry,  and  could 
think  of  and  wish  for  a  British  military  force,  never  succeeded 
in  commanding  anything  better  than  bodies  of  armed  Celtic 
tribesmen,  whose  ideas  and  hopes  did  not  extend  beyond 
the  narrow  limits  of  tribal  society.  If,  then,  the  English 
conquerors  of  the  British  met  men  organised  like  themselves 
into  tribal  groups  ;  and  if  we  remember  that  nearly  four 
hundred  years  before  Csesar  and  Plautus  and  Agricola  had 
met  the  ancestors  of  those  self-same  tribal  groups,  is  not  the 
conclusion  irresistible  that  the  character  of  the  Roman 
occupation  was  that  of  a  military  holding  only,  and  not 
a  colonisation  ?  Is  it  not  further  to  be  concluded  that  its 
influences  did  not  set  loose  to  any  appreciable  degree  the 
social  forces  of  a  higher  civilisation  upon  an  intelligent 
though  barbarous  people  ?  Such  a  result  must  have  formed 
in  the  end  a  system  of  culture  and  civilisation  resembling 
in  the  main  outline  the  original  from  which  it  sprang, 
and  capable  in  its  turn  of  influencing  a  still  more  barbarous 
conqueror.  But  so  far  from  this  being  the  case,  we  find 
that  the  Roman  conquerors  found  the  country  occupied  by 
tribes  of  more  or  less  barbarous  people,  and  they  left  it 
with  the  tribal  organisation  still  practically  unbroken." 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE    SAXON    OCCUPATION 

The  Church  in  Britain — Intermixture  of  Races — Saxon 
earthworks — Relations  to  subsequent  Norman  Castles — 
Offa's  Dyke — Methods  of  Burial — Weapons  and  other 
objects  found  in  graves — Art — Church  architecture. 

The  civilisation  described  in  the  last  chapters  was  now  to 
be  completely  swept  away.  The  Saxons,  Jutes  and  Angles 
gradually  drove  the  British  either  to  the  western  side  of  the 
island,  or  to  take  refuge  in  the  fastnesses  of  some  of  the 
almost  impenetrable  forests.  Here  they  seem  to  have 
lingered  longer  than  in  other  parts  of  the  island.  Indeed, 
in  the  Forest  of  Arden  and  in  the  Forest  of  Elmet,  near 
what  is  now  Leeds,  the  British  seem  to  have  been  able  to 
hold  their  ground  long  after  most  other  parts  of  England 
had  been  cleared  almost  entirely  of  their  British  inhabitants. 
This  clearance  is  exemplified  by  the  history  of  the  Christian 
Church  founded  either  directly  from  Rome,  or  indirectly, 
through  the  Church  of  Southern  Gaul,  in  this  country.  It 
had  suffered  during  the  various  persecutions  ordered  by  the 
Roman  Cresars  and  during  that  of  Diocletian,  St.  Alban, 
whose  name  is  now  attached  to  the  Roman  city  of  Veru- 
lamium,  underwent  martyrdom  at  or  near  that  town.  But 
in  time  the  Church  began  to  enjoy  a  greater  tranquillity,  its 
sacred  edifices  took  their  places  in  the  cities,  as  at  Silchester, 
and  it  even  began  to  gain  adherents  among  the  wealthy  and 
powerful,  if  the  evidence  already  cited  with  regard  to  the 


172 


LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 


Chedworth  villa  is  to  be  regarded  as  conclusive.  Moreover, 
we  find  that  at  the  Synod  of  Aries,  held  in  314,  there  were 
present  Eborius  of  York,  Restitutus  of  London,  and  Adel- 
phius  of  Caerleon-on-Usk,  bishops  whose  Sees  were  placed 
in  important  Romano-British  cities,  as  representatives  of 
the  episcopate  of  the  Church  in  Britain.  Two  at  least  of 
the  bishops  of  the  province  remained  in  their  cities  as  long 
as  it  was  possible  for  them  to  do  so,  after  the  Saxon  in- 
vasion— namely,  Theon  of  London  and  Thadioc  of  York, 
but  they  two,  we  are  told,  were  eventually  obliged  to  fly, 
and,  taking  with  them  their  reliquaries  and  sacred  vessels, 
find  refuge,  with  their  expatriated  flocks,  in  the  fastnesses  of 
the  Cambrian  mountains.  For  many  years  a  barrier  of 
heathendom  intervened  between  the  British  Christians  and 
those  on  the  Continent,  a  fact  which  accounts  for  their 
complete  or  almost  complete  isolation  from  communion 
with  the  rest  of  the  Church.  As  the  conquest  was  carried 
further  westward,  the  extermination  of  the  natives  seems  to 
have  become  relatively  less,  so  that  in  the  south-west  parts  of 
the  island  we  find  less  and  less  evidence  in  the  names  of 
the  places  of  Saxon  predominance  in  the  district,  and  more 
and  more  evidence  of  the  continued  occupation  of  it  by  its 
British  inhabitants.  Mr.  Green  has  pointed  out  that  the 
percentages  of  places  whose  termination  in  "ton"  shows 
them  to  have  been  of  Saxon  origin,  becomes  relatively  fewer 
the  more  we  approach  the  south-west  corner  of  the  island. 
This  termination,  he  tells  us,  north  of  the  Mendips — in  the 
country  which  had  been  won  in  the  early  days  of  \\'est- 
Saxon  invasion — bears  to  all  other  names  the  proportion 
of  about  a  third.  Between  Mendip  and  Barrett,  in  the 
country  conquered  by  Centvvine,  it  reaches  only  a  fourth. 
Across  the  Barrett,  but  east  of  the  road  from  \\'atchet  to 
Wellington,  the  proportion  decreases  to  a  fifth  ;  and  west- 
ward of  this  it  becomes  rapidly  rarer,  and  varies  in  different 
districts  from  an  eighth  to  a  tenth.     In  other  words,  the 


THE    SAXON    OCCUPATION  173 

British  population,  which  had  withdrawn  before  the  sword 
of  CeawHn,  rested  in  quiet  subjection  beneath  the  sword  of 
Ine.  In  Exeter  we  find  a  good  example  of  this  double 
occupancy,  for  the  southern  half  of  the  city  was  English, 
whilst  the  northern,  as  shown  by  the  dedications  of  the 
churches  to  Celtic  saints,  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
British.  Such  double  cities  are  met  with  in  other  parts  of 
England,  as  at  Shrewsbury,  where  the  Welsh  suburb  of 
Frankwell,  beyond  the  Severn,  and  approached  from  the 
town  by  the  Welsh  bridge,  had  its  own  peculiar  laws  and 
customs,  and  no  doubt,  at  one  period,  also  its  population 
of  a  different  race.  But  in  the  greater  part  of  the  island 
the  native  population  was  exterminated  or  driven  out,  at 
least  to  a  large  extent.  Reasoning  again  from  the  evidence 
afforded  by  place  names,  Mr.  Green  says,  "The  designations 
of  the  local  features  of  the  country,  the  names  of  hill  and 
vale  and  river,  often  remain  purely  Celtic.  There  are  '  pens ' 
and  '  duns '  among  our  uplands,  '  combes '  among  our 
valleys,  '  exes '  and  '  ocks '  among  our  running  waters.* 
But  when  we  look  at  the  traces  of  human  life  itself,  at  the 
names  of  the  villages  and  hamlets  which  lie  scattered  over 
the  country-side,  we  find  them  purely  English.  The  '  vill ' 
and  the  '  city '  have  vanished,  and  in  their  place  appear  the 
'  tun  '  and  '  ham '  and  '  thorpe '  of  the  new  settlers." 

It  is,  of  course,  possible,  even  probable,  that  some  at 
least  of  the  British  inhabitants  were  held  as  thralls  by  their 
Saxon  conquerors,  but  on  the  whole  the  latter  may  be  said 
to  have  fairly  cleared  a  large  portion  of  the  island  of  its 
inhabitants  before  commencing  to  settle  down  and  construct 
their  strongholds  and  settlements,  after  their  own  plan. 
The  huge  communal  camps  of  the  British  and  the  military 
works  of  the  Romans  were  not  in  accordance  with  the  spirit 

*  The  invaders  must,  of  course,  have  learnt  the  Celtic  names  for 
these  places  from  members,  perhaps  living  with  them  as  slaves,  of 
the  tribes  whom  they  displaced. 


174  LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

of  the  new  comers,  whose  settlements  were  of  a  purely 
family  kind.  No  doubt  during  the  struggle  of  conquest 
they  may  at  times  have  utilised  some  of  the  earthworks 
which  they  found  ready  to  their  hands,  just  as  the  Romans 
had  done  before  them,  and  they  undoubtedly  threw  up 
earthen  ramparts  themselves  as  temporary  measures.  The 
Roman  cities  and  villas  they  either  sacked  and  burnt,  or 
left  to  crumble  to  decay,  for,  at  least  during  the  earlier  part 
of  their  occupation  of  the  land,  they  did  not  make  any 
permanent  use  of  them,  but  rather  regarded  them  with  a 
superstitious  horror.  The  first  fortifications  which  they 
themselves  constructed  were  called  buhrs  or  burgs,  a  word 
from  which  we  have  obtained  our  modern  title  of  borough. 
These  earthworks  were  of  a  totally  diff"erent  nature  from 
those  of  the  British  period,  being  intended  for  the  occupa- 
tion and  defence  of  the  lord  and  his  household,  for  the 
protection  of  his  tenants  in  case  of  attack,  and  as  places 
where  in  time  of  war  their  flocks  and  herds  might  be  safely 
housed.  Sometimes  they  were  perfectly  new  erections,  in 
other  cases  pre-existent  Roman  ramparts  appear  to  have 
been  used  for  a  part  of  the  fortifications.  Mr.  G.  T. 
Clark  has  given  a  full  account  of  these  earthworks  in  his 
"Mediaeval  Military  Architecture,"  which  may  here  be 
quoted.  "  These  works,  thrown  up  in  England  in  the  ninth 
and  tenth  centuries,  are  seldom,  if  ever,  rectangular,  nor 
are  they  governed  to  any  great  extent  by  the  character  of 
the  ground.  First  was  cast  up  a  truncated  cone  of  earth, 
standing  at  its  natural  slope,  from  twelve  to  even  fifty  or 
sixty  feet  in  height.  This  '  mound,'  '  motte,'  or  '  burh,'  the 
'  Mota '  of  our  records,  was  formed  from  the  contents  of  a 
broad  and  deep  circumscribing  ditch.  This  ditch,  proper 
to  the  mound,  is  now  sometimes  wholly  or  partially  filled 
up,  but  it  seems  always  to  have  been  present,  being  in  fact 
the  parent  of  the  mound.  Berkhampstead  is  a  fine  example 
of  such   a  mound,  with  the  original  ditch.     At  Caerleon, 


THE   SAXON    OCCUPATION  175 

Tickhill  and  Lincoln  it  has  been  in  part  filled  up ;  at 
Cardiff  it  was  wholly  so,  but  has  been  recently  most  care- 
fully cleared  out,  and  its  original  depth  and  breadth  are 
seen  to  have  been  very  formidable.  Though  usually 
artificial,  these  mounds  are  not  always  so.  Durham, 
Launceston,  Montacute,  Dunster,  Restormel,  Nant  Cribba, 


Fig.  60. — Plan  of  a  Burh.  The  mound  and  its  ditch  are  at  the 
upper  part  of  the  figure.  The  base-court,  with  rampart,  ditch 
and  entrance,  are  below. 


are  natural  hills  ;  Windsor,  Tickhill,  Lewes,  Norwich,  Ely 
and  the  Devizes  are  partly  so ;  at  Sherborne  and  Heading- 
ham  the  mound  is  a  natural  platform,  scarped  by  art ;  at 
Tutbury,  Pontefract  and  Bramber,  where  the  natural  plat- 
form was  also  large,  it  has  been  scarped  and  a  mound 
thrown  up  upon  it.  Connected  with  the  mound  was  also  a 
base-court  or  enclosure,  sometimes  circular,  more  commonly 
oval  or  horse-shoe  shaped,  but  if  of  the  age  of  the  mound 


176  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

always  more  or  less  rounded.  This  enclosure  had  also  its 
bank  and  ditch  on  its  outward  faces,  its  rear  resting  on  the 
ditch  of  the  mound,  and  the  area  was  often  further 
strengthened  by  a  bank  along  the  crest  of  the  scarp  of  the 
ditch.  Now  and  then,  as  at  Old  Sarum,  there  is  an 
additional  but  slighter  bank  placed  outside  the  outer  ditch 
— that  is,  upon  the  crest  of  the  counterscarp.  This  was 
evidently  intended  to  carry  a  palisade.  The  mound  is 
either  central  or  at  other  times  is  placed  in  one  corner  of 
the  enclosure,  no  doubt  with  the  idea  of  concentrating  the 
stables  and  other  offices  in  one  part  and  of  making  the 
mound  itself  a  part  of  the  exterior  defences."  The  top  of 
the  mound  was  probably  surrounded  with  a  strong  fence  of 
wood,  and  formed  the  earthen  keep  of  a  primitive  form  of 
castle.  In  examples  which  can  be  seen  in  Herefordshire, 
Shropshire,  and  elsewhere,  these  earthworks  remain  un- 
touched, save  by  the  hand  of  time,  but  in  many  places  they 
have  been  utilised  by  the  Normans  when  they  in  turn  took 
possession  of  the  land.  In  some  cases  the  earthen  bank 
was  perhaps  found  to  have  too  small  an  area  on  the  top,  or 
for  some  other  reason  to  be  unsuited  for  the  purposes  of 
the  Norman  builder.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  case 
at  Holgate  in  Shropshire,  where  the  Saxon  mound  of 
remarkable  steepness,  but  with  a  very  small  area  at  the  top, 
stands  between  the  church  and  the  remains  of  the  castle 
founded  by  one  Helgotus,  shortly  after  the  Norman  con- 
quest. In  a  great  majority  of  cases,  however,  when  the 
Norman  took  possession  of  the  Saxon  lord's  lands,  he  also 
took  over  his  "  buhr  "  or  stronghold,  and  converted  it  into  a 
fortress  after  his  own  manner,  by  building  a  keep  upon  the 
mound  and  walls  within  the  outer  defences.  Thus  were 
formed  the  outer  and  inner  baily  of  a  castle.  An  artificial 
mound,  however,  such  as  that  of  a  Saxon  burh,  had  not 
the  solidity  or  stability  necessary  for  the  erection  of  the 
rectangular  tower  keep,  which  the  Norman   used  when  he 


THE   SAXON   OCCUPATION 


177 


was  building  on   a  perfectly  new  site,   and  of  which  the 

Tower  of  London  presents  an  example.     He  was  obliged 

to   modify   his   architecture   and   build    what   is    called    a 

shell-keep,  an  altogether 

lighter  form  of  building, 

consisting    of    a    wall, 

governed  in  its  shape  by 

the  form  of  the  mound 

on  which  it  stood,  and 

sometimes  strengthened 

by     pilasters.         These 

keeps,    many   of   which 

exist    in    the    country, 

point  in  most  cases  to 

the    presence   of  an    earlier   Saxon    mound    and    ditches. 

Such  an    earthen   castle   or   biirh   was  the  fortified  house 

of   a    strong    man ;    the    ton    or    tu7i    was    the    enclosed 

and   fortified  village  or  single  large  farm.      The  tun  was 


Fig.  61. — A  Rectangular  Norman 
Keep. 


Fig.  62. — A  Norman  Shell-keep. 


surrounded  by  a  rampart  and  a  ditch,  and  the  crest  of  the 
former  was  further  guarded  by  a  palisade  or  by  a  thick 
hedge.  Inside  the  enclosure  thus  formed  lay,  if  it  was  a 
village,  the  houses   of  the  inhabitants,  the  smaller   farms 

M 


178  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

with  their  cattle-sheds,  barns  and  other  ofifices.  In  the 
centre  was  either  a  sacred  tree  or  a  mound,  at  which  were 
held  the  meetings  of  the  householders  for  the  regulation  of 
the  affiiirs  of  the  village  and  the  appointment  of  the  village 
officers,  of  whom  more  will  be  said  in  a  later  chapter. 
These  tuns  often  originated  as  small  clearings  in  the  virgin 
forest,  by  which  they  were  surrounded,  in  which  respect 
they  resembled  the  first  settlements  of  the  backwoodsmen 
of  America  or  any  other  primitively  afforested  country. 
But  the  bands  of  forest  intervening  between  neighbouring 
villages  were  jealously  preserved  by  the  Saxons  as  means  of 
defence,  for  the  dominant  character  of  such  settlements 
was  their  primitive  independence  one  of  another.  Thus 
we  find  amongst  the  customs  of  the  period  that  any  person 
crossing  the  belt  of  forest  to  visit  the  village  was  bound  to 
give  notice  of  his  coming  by  blowing  a  horn,  or  run  the  risk 
of  being  slain  by  the  first  person  whom  he  might  meet. 
Each  of  these  tuns  was  known  by  the  name  of  the  real  or 
supposed  ancestor  of  the  family  by  whom  it  was  founded. 
Thus  if  Mr.  Green's  view  as  to  the  first-named  place  is 
correct,  Birmingham  was  the  ham  or  home  of  the  Beorm- 
ings  or  children  of  Beorm,  just  as  Leamington  was  the  ton 
or  village  of  the  Learnings  or  children  of  Leam. 

Besides  the  earthworks  just  mentioned,  various  long  lines 
of  embankment  in  different  parts  of  the  country  have  been 
assigned  to  the  Saxon  period.  The  most  important  of  these 
is  the  dyke  bounding,  in  a  large  part  of  its  course,  the  eastern 
frontier  of  Wales,  which  bears  the  name  of  Offa,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  erected  by  the  orders  of  that  monarch. 
Professor  M'Kenny  Hughes  has,  however,  thrown  consider- 
able doubt  upon  this  hypothesis,  and  thinks  that  it  may 
have  been  the  work  of  British,  Roman  or  Romano-British 
hands,  so  that  its  exact  period,  as  well  as  that  of  similar 
dykes  in  that  and  other  parts  of  the  country,  must  still  be 
considered  to  be  unsettled. 


THE   SAXON    OCCUPATION 


179 


The  methods  of  interment  used  by  the  Saxons  were 
various.  In  the  earher  times  they  seem  to  have  been  buried, 
generally  after  cremation,  in  a 
mound  erected  over  the  remains 
of  the  funeral  pyre,  which  was 
called  a  "  hlow,"  a  word  which  ap- 
pears in  names  such  as  Ludlow,  or 
"  bearw,"  whence  our  modern  term 
"  barrow."  Somewhat  later,  cre- 
mation seems  to  have  been  discon- 
tinued, and  the  body  was  interred 
in  a  pit  in  the  ground,  either  at 
full  length  or  doubled  up ;  and 
with  it  were  buried  the  short  knife 
or  seax,  from  which  the  national 
name  derived  its  origin,  the  long, 
double-edged  iron  sword,  the  spear 
and  the  shield,  with  other  articles 
sometimes  of  great  value.  We  find 
this  custom  alluded  to  in  the  poem 
of  Beowulf,  which  contains  many 
facts  of  interest  concerning  the  life 
and  customs  of  the  Saxons  in  their 
pagan  condition.  After  telling  of 
the  burning  of  the  body  of  Beowulf, 
it  describes  how  they  raised 


"  A  pile   on   the   earth   all   unweaklike 

that  was 
With    war-helms    behung,    and    with 

boards  of  the  battle, 
And  bright  byrnies,  e'en  after  the  boon  that  he  bade 
Laid  down  then  amidmost  their  king  mighty-famous 
The  warriors  lamenting,  the  lief  lord  of  them. 
Began  on  the  burg  of  bale-fires  the  biggest 
The  warriors  to  waken  ;  the  wood- reek  went  up 
Swart  over  the  smoky  glow,  sound  of  the  flame 


Fig.  63. — Anglo-Saxon 
Tomb  at  Ozingell. 
The  warrior's  spear  is 
at  his  left  hand,  his 
knife  at  his  right,  and 
the  sword  across  his 
loins.  The  circle 
marks  the  probable 
outline  of  his  shield, 
of  which  the  central 
boss  alone  remains. 
(Thesaurus  Cranio- 
rum.) 


i8o  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

Bewound  with  the  weeping  (the  wind-blending  stilled), 
Until  it  at  last  the  bone-house  had  broken." 

And  after  the  process  of  cremation  was  over 

"  Wrought  there  and  fashion'd  the  folk  of  the  Weders 
A  howe*  on  the  lithe, f  that  high  was  and  broad, 
Unto  the  wave-farers  wide  to  be  seen  ; 
Then  it  they  betimbered  in  time  of  ten  days, 
The  battle-strong's  beacon  ;  the  brands'  very  leavings 
They  bewrought  with  a  wall  in  the  worthiest  of  ways, 
That  men  of  all  wisdom  might  know  how  to  work. 
Into  burg  then  they  did  the  rings  and  bright  sun-gems. 
And  all  such  adornments  as  in  the  hoard  there 
The  war-minded  men  had  taken  e'er  now  ; 
The  earl's  treasure  let  they  the  earth  to  be  holding, 
Gold  in  the  grit,  wherein  yet  it  liveth, 
As  useless  to  men-folk  as  ever  it  was." 

In  some  instances  the  Roman  places  of  interment  and 
even  the  long  barrows  of  the  Neolithic  period  were  utilised 
by  the  Saxons  for  the  purposes  of  burial,  but  such  secondary 
interments  can  be  distinguished  by  the  character  of  the 
articles  buried  with  the  dead.  Saxon  cemeteries,  where 
numerous  interments  have  taken  place,  have  been  dis- 
covered in  many  parts  of  the  country,  as  at  Sleaford,  where 
the  graveyard  occupied  an  area  of  3600  square  yards,  and 
seems  to  have  contained  about  six  hundred  graves.  These 
were  arranged  in  rows,  each  body  being  about  ten  feet  from 
the  next,  and  buried  at  a  depth  of  nearly  three  feet.  Most 
of  the  bodies  found  in  this  cemetery  were  doubled  up,  with 
the  knees  bent  and  the  hands  placed  in  front  of  the  face. 
The  body  was  laid  on  the  left  side,  with  the  head  towards 
the  west  and  the  face  to  the  north.  A  few  instances  of 
cremation  were  also  met  with  in  this  cemetery,  the  graves  in 
these  cases  containing  sepulchral  urns,  filled  with  calcined 
bones.  A  curious  feature  in  this  instance  is  the  complete 
absence  of  swords  in  the  interments,  no  trace  of  any  such 
*  A  mound  or  barrow.  f  Body. 


THE    SAXON    OCCUPATION  i8i 

weapon  having  been  found,  though  knives,  buckles,  brooches 
and  other  ornaments  of  bronze,  glass,  amber  and  ivory  were 
met  with. 

It  will  now  be  necessary  to  describe  some  of  the  com- 
moner weapons  and  other  articles  found  in  these  graves 
somewhat  more  fully.  The  swords  made  of  iron,  with 
either  single  or  double  edges,  were  often  three  feet  in 
length,  and  possessed  in  some  cases  highly  ornamented 
hilts,  which  were  wrought  of  silver  or  bronze,  and  inscribed 
with  legions  in  runic  letters,  a  fact  which  is  alluded  to  in 
the  poem  of  Beowulf. 

"  Now  spake  out  Hrothgar,  as  he  looked  on  the  hilts  there, 
The  old  heir-loom  whereon  was  writ  the  beginning 
Of  the  strife  of  the  old  time,  whenas  the  flood  slew. 
The  ocean  a-gushing,  that  kin  of  the  giants 
As  fiercely  they  fared.     That  was  a  folk  alien 
To  the  Lord  everlasting  ;  so  to  them  a  last  guerdon 
Through  the  welling  of  waters  the  Wielder  did  give. 
So  was  on  the  sword-guards  all  of  the  sheer  gold 
By  dint  of  the  rune-staves  rightly  bemarked, 
Set  down  and  said  for  whom  first  was  that  sword  wrought, 
And  the  choice  of  all  irons  erst  had  been  done, 
Wreath-hilted  and  worm-adorned."  * 

The  scabbard  of  such  a  sword  was  of  wood,  and  was  tipped 
and  edged  with  bronze.  The  sword  was  slung  from  the 
girdle,  and  so  also  was  the  short,  triangular-bladed  knife, 
which  was  probably  also  used  as  a  dagger.  Of  the  spear, 
as  a  rule,  only  the  iron  parts — viz.,  the  head  and  the  ferule 
and  spike  of  the  lower  end — remain,  the  ashen  shaft  having 
perished.  On  the  breast  of  the  corpse  the  shield,  made  of 
linden-wood,  the  yellow  war-board  of  Beowulf,  was  laid 
flat.  It  is  highly  probable  that  it  was  originally  covered 
with  leather,  but  nothing  usually  remains  of  it  except  the 

*  This  passage,  with  those  previously  quoted  from  the  same 
poem,  is  taken  from  the  translation  published  by  the  late  Mr. 
William  Morris  and  Mr.  Wyatt  in  the  Kelmscott  edition. 


l82 


LIFE   IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 


large  iron  boss  which  formed  its  centre.     Coats  of  ringed 
mail  have  also  been  met  with  in  these  graves,  as  well  as 

helmets,  made  entirely  or 
in  part  of  iron  or  brass. 
These  were  often  orna- 
mented with  a  figure  of 
the  sacred  boar,  or  some- 
times with  an  image  of 
Woden.  The  Saxons  dis- 
played a  remarkable  skill 
in  goldsmith's  work,  and 
many  personal  ornaments 
of  a  very  high  excellence 
have  been  found  in  their 
graves.  Amongst  the  most 
characteristic  of  these  are 
the  fibulae  or  brooches, 
which  are  of  different 
shapes  and  made  of  various 
metals.  Sometimes  they 
are  circular  and  made  of 
gold,  ornamented  with  fili- 
gree work  and  jewels,  usually 
garnets  or  enamel.  Fibular 
of  this  type  are  believed  to 
have  been  chiefly  made  by 
the  Jutes.  The  pattern  as- 
sociated with  the  Angles  is 
that  of  a  T,  generally  made 
of  gilt  bronze  or  brass, 
and  sometimes  of  very  large 
dimensions.  The  form  supposed  to  be  characteristic  of 
the  Saxons  is  saucer-shaped,  and  is  also  made  of  brass 
or  bronze.  Very  numerous  buckles  have  been  found,  and 
also  chatelaines,  which,  with  their  various  pendant  objects, 


Fig.  64. — Anglo-Saxon  Fibulas. 
(Wright.)  The  upper  right 
fig.  was  found  atSittingbourne, 
Kent,  is  of  gold  and  set  with 
rubies,  garnets  and  blue  stones. 
The  upper  left  fig.  was  found  at 
Ingarsby,  near  Leicester,  and 
that  below  it  at  Stowe  Heath, 
near  Icklingham,  Suffolk.  The 
two  small  objects  between  the 
circular  fibuLx  were  found  01 
Stowe  Heath  in  Suffolk.  The 
lowest  fig.  on  the  right  was 
found  at  Ashendon,  Bucks,  and 
is  set  with  pieces  of  coloured 
glass. 


THE   SAXON    OCCUPATION  183 

including  keys,  seem  to  have  been  largely  worn  by  the 
Saxon  women.  The  Saxon  pottery  known  to  us  largely 
consists  of  cinerary  urns  of  the  period  when  cremation  was 
the  rule.  Such  urns  are  generally  hand-made,  of  a  dark- 
coloured  clay,  and  are  ornamented  with  projecting  knobs 
or  bosses  at  the  sides,  zigzags,  circles,  squares  and  other 


Fig.  65. — Anglo-Saxon  Glass  Tumblers.     (Wright.) 


figures  which  might  have  been  easily  impressed  upon  them 
with  a  sharpened  stick.  The  Saxons  worked  in  glass  with 
much  greater  skill,  the  material  differing  chiefly  from  that 
of  the  Roman  period  in  being  thinner,  not  so  fine  in 
texture,  and  more  subject  to  an  opalescent  change.  Their 
beads  of  glass  were  often  variegated  with  stripes  of  different 
colours,  but  the  articles  which  are  most  characteristic  of 
their  skill  as  glass-workers  are  tumblers.  These  vessels, 
which  really  deserved  the  name  to  which  they  gave  rise, 
were  incapable  of  standing,  having  rounded  or  pointed  bases, 
which  were  perhaps  designed  originally  on  the  lines  of  the 
Roman  amphora,  or  perhaps  were  constructed  on  the  lines 
of  that  primitive  drinking  vessel  a  cow's  horn.  They  were 
ornamented  with  twisted  cords  and  ridges  of  glass,  and 
sometimes  had  hollow  projections  opening  out  from  them. 


i84  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

Their  love  of  ornament  was  not  confined  to  work  in  metal 
and  glass,  for  after  they  had  embraced  Christianity  they 
became  celebrated  for  the  beauty  of  the  manuscripts  and 
illuminations  which  their  scribes  produced,  and  not  less  for 
the  elaborate  bindings,  partly  composed  of  plates  of  metal 
and  studded  with  crystals,  which  they  constructed  for  their 
safe  keeping.  The  peculiarity  of  Anglo-Saxon  illumination, 
says  Godwin,  consists  in  an  elaborate  intricacy,  the  intro- 
duction of  panels  within  the  letters,  the  use  of  spiral  lines 
and  ribbon-work,  and  the  filling  up  and  ornamentation  with 
lizard-like  animals  of  every  conceivable  shape. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  deal  at  any  length  with  the 
religious  views  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  since  so  much  has  been 
written  about  them  in  readily  accessible  manuals.  The 
names  of  some  of  their  principal  deities  still  remain  in  daily 
use  as  the  names  of  the  days  of  the  week.  Woden  or  Odin, 
whose  name  is  found  in  our  Wednesday,  has  given  it  also  to 
many  other  objects  in  England  such  as  the  Wansdyke,  and 
to  places  such  as  Wednesbury,  near  Birmingham,  or  Wodens- 
beorh,  where  the  hill,  on  which  now  stands  the  Church 
of  St.  Bartholomew,  is  said  to  have  previously  possessed  a 
temple  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Odin.  Thor  or  Thunor, 
after  whom  we  name  Thursday,  was  the  wielder  of  the 
hammer,  and  the  Celt  or  stone  axe  came  to  be  looked  upon 
as  his  characteristic  weapon.  Fairies  and  elves  entered 
largely  into  the  Saxon  mythology  and  find  a  place  in  the 
names  of  the  period,  many  of  which,  such  as  Aelfred 
(elves'  counsel)  are  compounded  of  the  word  aelf^  a  fairy. 

After  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  various  churches 
Were  erected  by  the  Saxons,  or  at  least  at  a  pre-conquest 
date,  of  which  the  most  remarkable  example  is  the  tiny 
edifice  at  Bradford-on-Avon,  near  Bath,  which  was  built  at 
the  end  of  the  seventh  century,  by  St.  Ealdhelm,  to  com- 
memorate the  victory  of  Cenwealh  over  the  West  Welsh,  at 
that  place,  in  652.     The  chief  characteristics  of  this  style  of 


THE   SAXON    OCCUPATION 


185 


Fig.  66.— Illuminated  Page  from  a  Saxon  Manuscript,  traditionally  stated  to 
have  been  executed  by  the  Venerable  Bede.  (From  a  figure  in  Westwood's 
"  Anglo-Saxon  Manuscripts.") 


1 86 


LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 


architecture  are — (i)  the  alternation  of  stones  laid  perpen- 
dicularly and  horizontally  to  form  the  sides  of  doorways  and 
windows,  an  arrangement  known  as  "  long  and  short  work  "  ; 

(2)  the  absence  of  buttresses  to  the  walls,  which  are,  how- 
ever, provided  with  a  slightly  raised  series  of  pilasters, 
designed  probably  to  hold  the  plaster  or  stucco  in  position ; 

(3)  the  circular  or  triangular  shape  of  the  arches  of  windows 
and  doors.     The  edifices  are  adorned  in  some  instances 


Fig.  67. — The  Anglo-Saxon  Church  at  Bradford-on-Avon.     (After 
a  figure  in  the  Archccological  Journal.) 


with  exceedingly  rude  carvings.  Such  are  some  of  the  most 
characteristic  objects  associated  with  the  Saxon  invaders  of 
this  country,  and  if  they  have  been  very  briefly  touched  upon, 
it  is  because  the  period  is  one  which  receives  more  attention 
in  ordinary  text-books  of  history  than  those  which  preceded 
it,  so  that  a  detailed  account  is  rendered  less  necessary. 

As  to  the  culture  of  the  period,  it  will  have  been  gathered 
that  it  was,  especially  at  the  time  of  the  invasion,  very  much 
lower  in  the  scale  of  civilisation  than  that  which  it  extermi- 
nated and  replaced.  Of  the  development  and  gradual  evolu- 
tion of  the  life  of  the  time  into  a  state  of  things  belonging 
to  comparatively  recent  history  something  will  be  said  in 
the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER   X 

TRIBAL   AND    VILLAGE    COMMUNITIES 

The  Tribal  Community — Its  members — The  strangers  Hving 
withit — The  Chieftain  — His  house — The  Village  community 
— The  Hall — Evolution  of  the  Manor-house — The  Lord  of 
the  Manor — How  a  Manor  was  formed — The  Inhabitants 
of  the  Village  —The  Land  around  it — Its  Allotment — The 
Manor  of  Westminster  at  the  Conquest — The  Island  of  Heis- 
geier. 

Without  entering  into  details  on  this  matter,  it  may  he 
said  without  much  fear  of  contradiction  that  the  Tribal  was 
an  earlier  system  than  the  Village,  and  on  that  account  it 
will  be  necessary  first  of  all  to  turn  our  attention  to  its 
peculiarities.  As  it  existed  to  a  later  date  in  U'ales  than  in 
other  parts  of  the  country,  it  is  but  natural  that  we  should 
have  fuller  records  of  the  tribal  system  in  that  country  than 
elsewhere,  and  when  we  come  to  study  it  we  find  that  the 
ruling  principle  which  underlay  all  its  regulations  was  that 
of  the  blood-relationship  existing  amongst  a  group  of  free 
tribesmen. 

No  one  who  did  not  belong  to  the  kin  could  become 
a  member  of  the  tribe,  save  under  the  most  exceptional 
circumstances,  and  this,  although  tribesmen  and  non-tribes- 
men existed  side  by  side.  The  gulf  between  the  two  classes 
was  wide,  though  not  absolutely  impassable.  Residence  in 
\\'ales,  at  least  according  to  the  laws  of  the  southern  part 
of  the  principality,  for  no  less  than  nine  generations,  made 
the    ninth   descendant   a  Cymro.     Averaging  the  interval 


i88  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

between  each  link  in  the  chain  of  descent  as  twenty  years, 
it  would  take  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  for  the  descend- 
ants of  a  family  of  non-tribesmen,  constantly  intermarrying 
with  non-tribesmen,  to  become  admitted  to  the  tribe.  This 
length  of  time  might  be  curtailed  if  marriages  took  place  in 
each  generation  with  Cymraes  women,  for  after  four  genera- 
tions of  such  marriages,  when  the  family  blood  would  be 
seven-eighths  Cymric,  the  family  would  become  naturalised 
tribesmen.  But  there  was  an  even  speedier  method  of 
entering  the  kin,  and  that  was  by  the  stranger's  purchase  of 
his  freedom  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  in  defending  the  lives  or 
privileges  of  tribesmen.  The  laws  provided  for  the  cases  as 
follows  :  "(i)  If  a  person  be  killed,  and  his  kindred  shall 
not  obtain  right,  and  his  kinsmen  proceed  to  avenge  their 
kin,  and  they  deem  their  number  small,  and  if  a  stranger 
come  and  proceed  along  with  them  upon  the  privilege  of  kin, 
saying,  '  I  will  go  along  with  you  to  avenge  your  kin,  and  will 
take  upon  myself  the  slaughter  and  blood  of  him  whom  ye 
also  jshall  take  upon  yourselves,'  and  they  kill  one  or  more, 
on  account  of  their  kin,  such  stranger  obtains  the  privilege 
of  kin.  (2)  If  a  person  be  condemned  to  lawful  wager  of 
battle,  either  for  land  or  soil,  or  for  any  crime,  and  he  should 
dread  in  his  heart  entering  into  personal  combat,  and  a 
stranger  should  arise  and  say  to  him,  '  I  will  go  in  thy  stead 
to  combat,'  and  he  should  escape  thereby,  such  stranger 
acquires  the  privilege  of  a  brother  to  him,  or  nephew,  the 
son  of  a  sister."  Nothing  can  show  more  powerfully  the 
value  attached  to  kinship  than  the  care  which  was  taken 
to  preserve  its  rights  for  the  children  of  those  who  had  them- 
selves committed  such  crimes  against  the  tribe  as  to  have 
become  kin-wrecked,  or  deprived  of  their  own  rights.  Such 
rights  of  all  kinds  were  preserved  intact  until  the  ninth 
generation,  when,  if  they  were  not  claimed,  they  lapsed. 
The  law  relating  to  this  is  most  striking.  "  If  the  ninth  man 
come  to  claim  land,  his  title  is  extinguished,  and  that  person 


TRIBAL   AND   VILLAGE   COMMUNITIES       189 

is  to  raise  an  outcry  that  from  being  a  proprietor  he  is  be- 
coming a  non-proprietor,  and  then  the  law  Hstens  to  that 
outcry,  and  assigns  to  him  a  free  tribesman's  portion,  and 
the  outcry  is  called  '  an  outcry  over  the  abyss.'  "  What,  asks 
Mr.  Seebohm,  is  this  terrible  "  cry  over  the  abyss  "  but  the 
last  despairing  cry  of  a  kinsman  on  the  point  of  losing 
for  ever,  for  himself  and  for  his  descendants,  his  rights  of 
kinship  ? 

The  strangers  who  lived  alongside  the  tribe,  but  not  of 
it,  suffered  under  certain  disadvantages,  the  significance  of 
which  is  not  difficult  to  understand  when  one  has  grasped  the 
fundamental  idea  of  the  system.  Their  evidence  was  of  no 
value  against  a  free  Cymro.  Whilst  every  tribesman  must 
have  his  "  sword  and  spear  and  bow,  with  twelve  arrows  in 
the  quiver,"  always  ready,  no  weapons  of  any  kind  were 
permitted  to  a  stranger  until  the  third  generation,  nor  were 
the  rights  of  hunting  or  horsemanship  allowed  to  any  but 
an  innate  Cymro.  Finally,  without  the  consent  of  the  lord 
whom  he  served,  the  stranger  could  not  become  a  scholar, 
a  smith,  or  a  bard.  But  if  his  lord  did  not  interfere  with 
him  until  he  was  tonsured  as  a  scholar,  or  until  he  had  set 
up  a  smithy  of  his  own  or  graduated  in  song  as  a  bard,  he 
was  free.  The  Triads,  from  which  we  obtain  so  much 
information  as  to  ancient  Welsh  customs,  tell  us  that  the 
object  of  these  precautions  was  to  keep  the  stranger  class 
weak  and  unorganised,  "  to  guard  against  treachery  and 
ambush,"  and  "to  prevent  the  plotting  of  strangers  and 
their  adherents,  lest  alltuds  (or  aliens)  obtain  the  lands  of 
the  innate  Cymry." 

The  idea  of  chieftainship  of  such  a  tribe  naturally 
evolved  itself  from  that  of  the  headship  of  the  house- 
hold, the  holder  of  which  was  the  chief  of  the  kin  to 
the  fourth  descent.  But  side  by  side  with  the  idea 
of  the  chieftancy  of  the  kindred,  there  appears  to  have 
gradually  developed  in  the  Welsh  system  a  territorial  lord- 


iQo  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

ship,  which,  with  its  various  classes  of  followers  and  its 
courts,  seemed  to  the  eyes  of  the  Norman  lawyers  closely  to 
resemble  the  manorial  system.  Superior  to  all  these  minor 
rulers  was  the  Brenhin  or  King  of  Aberffraw,  whose 
authority  extended  over  all  Wales ;  for  though  the  two  other 
divisions  of  that  country,  Gwent  and  Dimetia,  each  had  its 
own  Brenhin,  they  were  inferior  and  subject  to  him  of 
Aberffraw,  just  as  the  Ard-Ri  of  Ireland  was  a  king  over 
other  kings  of  lesser  powers  and  jurisdiction. 

We  gain  a  considerable  insight  into  the  manner  of  life 
of  the  period  by  what  the  laws  teach  us  as  to  the  provision 
which  had  to  be  made  for  the  Brenhin  when  he  was 
travelling  through  his  dominions.  The  house  in  which  he 
lay  had  to  be  provided  by  the  aliens,  and  consisted  of  six 
columns  or  poles,  probably  often  newly-felled  trees,  placed 
in  parallel  rows  of  three  and  fastened  together  at  the  top  to 
the  roof-tree,  thus  forming  a  kind  of  nave.  Then  at  some 
distance  behind  the  poles  low  walls  of  stakes  and  wattle 
shut  in  the  aisles.  The  roof  was  covered  with  branches  and 
thatch,  and  there  were  wattle  doors  of  entrance  at  the  end. 
Along  the  aisles  behind  the  poles  were  placed  beds  of  rushes, 
and  the  footboards  of  the  beds  were  used  as  seats  during 
the  daytime.  All  houses  put  up  in  this  way  were  alike,  and 
each  piece  of  timber  had  its  customary  value,  from  the  poles 
and  the  roof- tree  down  to  the  stakes  and  the  wattles.  The 
fire  was  in  the  middle  between  the  central  posts  and  divided 
the  upper  portion,  where  the  chief  and  his  principal  officers 
sat,  from  the  lower  end  of  the  hall  which  was  reserved  for 
the  humbler  folk.  The  silentiary  stood  by  one  of  the  central 
posts,  and  it  was  his  duty  to  call  attention,  when  required, 
by  striking  it  with  his  staff.  A  most  interesting  parallel  to 
this  hall  is  found  in  the  description  in  the  Boldon  Book  of 
the  hunting  lodge  which  the  villeins  of  the  Bishop  of 
Durham  had  to  provide  for  the  great  hunt  of  that  prelate, 
and  this  parallel  shows  us   how  widespread  was  the  custom 


TRIBAL   AND   VILLAGE   COMMUNITIES        191 

of  erecting  such  a  temporary  habitation  at  a  time  when 
great  houses  were  few  and  far  between.  This  hall  was  to  be 
constructed  in  the  forest  and  to  be  60  ft.  long  and  16  ft. 
wide  between  the  posts,  and  to  have  a  steward's  room,  a 
chamber  and  a  "privat."  The  villeins  had  also  to  construct 
a  chapel  40  ft.  long  by  15  ft.  wide,  for  which  they  received 
two  shillings  of  charity,  and  to  make  their  portion  of  the 
hedge  round  the  lodges.  On  the  departure  of  the  bishop 
they  received  a  full  tun  of  beer.  Such  are  some  of  the 
glimpses  which  we  gain  of  the  life  in  the  earlier  or  tribal 
community,  which  we  must  now  leave  in  order  to  study  the 
origin  of  the  village  life  of  England  as  exemplified  in  its 
village  communities.  Such  villages,  as  shown  by  Mr. 
Thorold  Rogers,  consisted  for  the  most  part  of  the  abodes 
of  the  villagers,  which  were  built  of  wattles  smeared  inside 
and  out  with  mud  or  clay.  These  were  crowded  around 
the  church,  which  was  the  common  hall  of  the  village.  It 
was  also  the  place  of  refuge  in  time  of  danger^  and  indeed, 
coming  down  to  a  later  period,  no  one  can  look  at  the  solid, 
low-built,  small-windowed  towers  of  the  Norman  churches 
along  the  Welsh  marches  without  feeling  that  that  they  were 
intended  for  fortresses  as  well  as  for  the  most  prominent 
features  of  places  of  worship.  The  only  houses  of  any  im- 
portance in  the  village  were  those  of  the  lord,  the  priest,  and 
the  miller.  What  these  were  like,  says  Mr.  Gomme,  may  be 
gathered  from  such  a  house  as  that  known  as  Gatacre  Hall, 
which  existed  down  to  some  eighty  years  ago  in  Shropshire, 
and  closely  resembled  such  primitive  Aryan  abodes  as  may 
be  found  in  Media.  It  was  nearly  an  exact  square.  At 
each  corner,  and  in  the  middle  of  each  side,  and  in  the 
centre  was  an  immense  oak,  hewed  nearly  square  and  with- 
out branches,  set  with  its  head  on  large  stones  laid  about  a 
foot  deep  in  the  ground  and  with  its  roots  uppermost,  which 
roots,  with  a  few  rafters,  formed  a  complete  arched  roof. 
Such  a  house  is  a   permanent  edition   of  the    temporary 


192  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

abode  of  the  Brenhin  of  Aberffraw,  and  shows  us  that  the  hall 
is  the  first  and  central  point  of  the  house,  a  fact  which  Mr. 
Green  has  insisted  upon,  when  dealing  with  Saxon  times. 
"The  hall  was  the  common  living  place  of  all  the  dwellers 
within  the  house.  Here  the  '  board,'  set  up  on  trestles 
when  needed,  furnished  a  rough  table  for  the  family  meal ; 
and  when  the  board  was  cleared  away  the  women  bore  the 
wooden  cups  for  beer,  or  drinking-horns,  to  the  house-master 
and  his  friends  as  they  sat  on  the  settles  or  benches  ranged 
round  the  walls  ;  while  the  gleeman  sang  his  song,  or  the 
harp  was  passed  round  from  hand  to  hand.  Here,  too, 
when  night  came  and  the  fire  died  down,  was  the  common 
sleeping-place,  and  men  lay  down  to  rest  upon  the  bundles 
of  straw  which  they  had  strewn  about  its  floor." 

No  doubt  the  single-roomed  house  was  the  earliest  form, 
and  its  next  development  would  probably  be  the  addition 
of  a  second  story  for  sleeping  purposes. 

As  it  is  interesting  to  see  how  such  simple  abodes 
developed  into  the  stately  and  splendid  manor-house  of 
Elizabethan  and  Jacobean  times,  the  following  account,  in 
which  Mr.  Baring  Gould  attempts  such  a  task,  may  be 
quoted.  Describing  some  fifteenth-century  examples  in 
his  own  neighbourhood,  he  says  of  one  such  house  :  "  It 
has  stained-glass  coats  of  arms  in  the  hall-window.  This 
house  has  been  used  as  a  farmhouse  for  three  hundred 
years  at  least,  but  it  was  originally  the  seat  of  an  influential 
family  in  the  county.  Now  what  are  its  arrangements  ? 
There  is  a  porch  ;  from  the  porch  you  enter  the  hall,  with 
a  huge  fireplace  and  stained  glass  in  the  windows  ;  but  do 
not  imagine  a  baronial  hall,  but  a  low  room,  seven  feet  to 
the  rafters  unceiled.  Behind  the  hall  is  a  lean-to  back 
kitchen  which,  I  suspect,  is  a  latter  addition.  Beside  the 
porch  a  dairy  and  larder.  A  winding  stair  of  stone,  and 
you  reach  the  bedroom.  I  say  the  bedroom,  because 
positively  there  was  only  one,  with  a  huge  six-light  window 


TRIBAL   AND   VILLAGE   COMMUNITIES       193 

opening  into  it,  over  the  porch,  dairy,  and  hall.  In  the  hall 
the  family  sat — squire,  ladies,  serving-men,  and  maids ;  up- 
stairs— let  us  trust  with  some  sort  of  screen  between  them — 
the  whole  community  slept  in  one  room.  In  Queen  Anne's 
time  this  arrangement  was  too  primitive  even  for  the  farmer, 
and  an  additional  wing  was  erected,  with  a  drawing-room 
below  and  a  second  bedroom  upstairs.  But,  no,  perhaps  I 
am  wrong  in  thinking  and  asserting  that  the  entire  family  of 
squire  and  retainers  pigged  upstairs  in  one  room  ;  on  further 
consideration,  I  believe  that  the  serving-men  slept  on  the 
benches  and  in  the  straw  on  the  ground  about  the  fire  of 
the  hall ;  and  very  probably  so  did  the  sons  of  the  squire. 
Upstairs  he  had  his  four-poster  with  curtains  around,  but  the 
daughters  and  servant-girls  had  their  uncurtained  truckle 
bedsteads  in  the  same  room.  An  advance  was  made  when 
partitions  were  erected,  constituting  a  series  of  bedrooms ; 
but  even  then  all  the  rooms  communicated  with  each  other. 
Usually  this  was  the  arrangement :  in  the  centre  of  the 
house,  upstairs  at  the  stair-head,  slept  the  squire  and  his 
wife ;  on  the  right  hand,  through  a  door,  marched  the  sons 
and  serving -men  to  their  beds ;  and  through  a  door  on  the 
left  hand  trotted  the  daughters  and  the  maid-servants  to 
their  beds.  In  a  will  as  late  as  1652  a  gentleman  leaves 
his  dwelling-house  to  his  son  Thomas,  '  and  my  will  is 
that  my  daughter  Joan  shall  have  free  ingress,  egress,  and 
regress  to  the  bedd  in  the  chamber  where  she  now  lyeth,  so 
long  as  she  continueth  unmarried,'  which  is  explicable 
enough  when  we  understand  how  the  bedrooms  opened  one 
out  of  another,  and  how  the  master  of  the  house  commanded 
the  approach  to  them  by  sleeping  at  the  top  of  the  stairs.  In 
the  parish  of  Little  Hempston,  near  Totnes,  is  a  perfect 
example  of  a  house  of  the  time  of  Richard  II.  It  was  pro- 
bably a  manor-house  of  the  family  of  Arundell,  but  was 
given  to  the  church,  and  become  the  parsonage.  It  is 
absolutely  unaltered   and  is  of  extraordinary  interest.     It 

N 


194  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

consists  of  a  quadrangle,,  with  buildings  on  all  four  sides, 
but  the  central  court  is  only  about  twenty  feet  by  twelve 
feet,  into  which  all  the  windows  look  from  sunless  rooms. 
The  only  exception  is  the  hall-window  which  has  a  southern 
aspect.  The  hall  was  heated  by  a  brazier  in  the  centre,  and 
the  smoke  went  out  at  a  louvre  in  the  roof.  There  was  one 
gloomy  parlour,  with  a  fireplace  in  it,  opening  out  of  this 
hall.  All  the  rest  of  the  quadrangle  was  taken  up  with 
kitchen,  porter's  lodge,  cellar,  and  stables.  Upstairs  one 
long  dormitory.  The  hall  window,  in  such  houses,  for  long 
remained  a  prominent  feature.  Often  it  forms  a  bay,  and 
in  the  side  of  it  may  frequently  be  found  a  lavatory.  The 
ladies  of  the  house  sat  in  this  window  at  their  needlework, 
whilst  in  the  smaller  houses  the  cooking  went  on  at  the  hall 
fire.  The  hall  served,  as  we  have  seen,  as  kitchen,  dining- 
room,  parlour,  and  bedroom  for  the  men.  In  Elizabeth's 
reign  the  bay  of  the  bay  window  became  more  prominent, 
and  was  even  sometimes  cut  off"  from  the  hall  by  panelling. 
The  ceiling  of  the  bay  is  low^  whereas  that  of  the  hall  is  high, 
the  ladies  began  to  look  to  their  comforts,  but  they  had  no 
separate  fire  in  this  bower.  If  their  fingers  became  cold, 
they  had  to  run  into  the  hall  and  warm  them  at  the  common 
fire.  Then,  still  later,  came  parlours  as  separate  rooms, 
generally  on  the  side  of  the  hall  opposite  to  the  entrance, 
and  often  forming  a  wing  projecting  at  right  angles.  At  first 
all  houses  of  any  importance  affected  the  quadrangle  :  but 
the  dwelling-house  formed  only  one  side  of  it,  the  others 
were  occupied  by  stables,  cow-houses,  barns,  and  lodge. 
The  windows  all  looked  into  the  yard.  When,  however, 
this  arrangement  ceased  to  be  necessary,  because  of  the 
greater  security  in  the  country,  the  owners  pulled  down  their 
farm-buildings  and  reconstructed  them  behind  the  house,  so 
that  a  little  sun  might  look  in  at  their  windows,  and  that 
they  might  have  a  little  prospect  out  of  them  other  than 
heaps  of  stable  manure  and  the  walls  and  roofs  of  cow- 


TRIBAL   AND   VILLAGE   COMMUNITIES       195 

houses.  There  still  remain,  however,  in  certain  districts  on 
the  borders  of  Dartmoor,  a  number  of  the  early  manor 
houses  thus  constructed  and  quite  unaltered,  left  unaltered 
because  their  protection  is  needed  from  the  boisterous  gales. 
When  the  farm  buildings  before  the  house  were  removed, 
the  house  itself  presented  a  perfectly  plain  straight  front, 
occasionally  with  a  plain  projecting  porch,  but  not  usually. 
The  projecting  porch  was  erected  later,  because  the  front 
entrance  was  exposed  by  the  removal  of  the  farm  buildings. 
Eliminating  these  erections,  the  earliest  houses  of  Henry  II. 's 
reign  were  plain  long  buildings.  Then  a  porch  was  added. 
Next,  at  right  angles,  a  set  of  superior  apartments  or  a  parlour 
was  erected,  and  the  house  was  changed  to  the  shape  of  a 
capital  F.  Increased  wealth  and  need  of  accommodation, 
fashion  and  compliment  to  the  reigning  sovereign,  made  the 
house  assume  the  shape  of  H  or  E.  But  the  old  quad- 
rangles, very  small,  remain  often  where  least  expected. 
They  have  been  glazed  over,  and  turned  into  a  central 
staircase." 

The  centre  of  the  village,  considered  as  a  cluster  of  houses, 
was  that  of  the  lord,  and  he  himself  was  its  culminating 
point,  if  it  be  regarded  as  a  congeries  of  human  beings.  The 
lord  or  Thegn  held  his  manor  of  the  king,  in  return  for 
certain  services,  military  and  otherwise,  always  including  the 
three  great  duties,  the  triiioda  ?iecessitas  of  the  Rectitu- 
dines,  in  which  were  summed  up  the  duties  of  the  various 
persons  connected  with  manors.  These  three  duties  were — 
"  fyrd,"  the  accompanying  the  king  upon  his  military  expedi- 
tions •  "  buhrbote,"  the  aiding  him  in  the  building  of  his 
castles  ;  and  "  brigbote,"  the  maintenance  of  the  bridges  of 
the  district.  The  lord  of  a  village  may  have  gained  it  in 
the  first  place  as  the  leader  of  the  band  of  warriors  who 
drove  out  its  original  possessors,  or  he  may  have  obtained 
it  by  a  grant  from  the  crown  or  from  some  great  lord,  or, 
again,  he  may  have  carved  it  out  for  himself  from  the  waste 


ige  LIFE    IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

forest-land  which  covered  so  much  of  the  country.  It 
was  in  the  second  of  these  ways  that  the  abbeys  became 
possessed  of  so  many  manors,  where  the  abbot  was  repre- 
sented by  a  reeve  who  acted  as  the  head  of  the  village. 

The  last  process  is  perhaps  the  most  interesting  from 
the  point  of  view  of  this  book.  One  can  easily  picture 
the  formation  of  such  a  village  by  some  energetic  pioneer, 
who,  having  laboriously  made  a  clearing  in  the  forest, 
erected  his  watde  house,  tilled  his  scanty  fields,  and  gradually 
enlarged  his  borders  and  his  population  by  the  accession 
of  fresh  persons  anxious  to  form  a  part  of  his  village.  Such 
a  process  must  often  have  taken  place,  and  its  termination 
would  be  the  conversion  of  the  new  village  into  a  manor 
by  grant  of  the  land  from  the  crown  or  the  over-lord,  after 
it  had  been  cleared  and  colonised.  As  Mr.  Seebohm 
points  out,  we  get  a  glimpse  of  this  process,  and  of  the 
transition  of  the  soil,  from  being  laen-land  (land  granted  as 
a  benefice  to  a  thane  for  life)  to  becoming  boc-land  (land 
of  inheritance  permanently  made  over  by  charter  or  deed), 
in  a  book  written  by  King  Alfred,  and  entitled  "Blossom 
Gatherings  from  St.  Augustine."  The  king  describes  how 
the  forest  provides  every  requisite  for  building,  shafts  and 
handles  for  tools,  timbers  for  house-building,  fair  rods  with 
which  many  a  house  may  be  constructed  and  many  a  fair 
tun  timbered,  wherein  men  may  dwell  permanently  in  peace 
and  quiet,  summer  and  winter,  which,  he  adds  parentheti- 
cally, is  more  than  I  have  done  yet.  There  is,  he  says,  an 
eternal  "  ham  "  above,  but  He  that  has  promised  it  through 
the  holy  Fathers  might  in  the  meantime  make  him,  so  long 
as  he  was  in  this  world,  to  dwell  softly  in  a  log-hut  on  laen- 
land,  waiting  patiently  for  his  eternal  inheritance.  So  we 
wonder  not,  he  proceeds,  that  men  should  work  in  timber 
felling  and  in  carrying  and  in  building,  for  a  man  hopes 
that  if  he  has  built  a  cottage  on  laen-land  of  his 
lord's,  with    his    lord's   help    he    may    be    allowed    to   lie 


TRIBAL   AND   VILLAGE   COMMUNITIES       197 

there  awhile,  and  hunt  and  fowl  and  fish,  and  occupy 
the  laen  as  he  likes  on  sea  or  land,  until  through  his 
lord's  grace  he  may  perhaps  some  day  obtain  boc-land 
and  a  permanent  inheritance.  Finally,  he  completes 
his  parable  by  contrasting  the  log-hut  upon  laen-land, 
and  the  permanent  freehold  "  ham  "  on  the  boc-land  or 
hereditary  manorial  estate. 

The  lands  around  a  village  of  the  kind  with  which  we  are 
dealing  were  of  two  kinds.  There  was  first  the  personal 
demesne  of  the  lord,  his  home-farm,  which  he  tilled  for  himself 
by  the  work  of  his  villeins  and  theows  or  slaves,  or  let  out  for 
money  if  he  pleased.  Secondly,  there  was  the  remainder  of 
the  land  which  was  held  in  villenage.  This  introduces  us  to 
the  class  of  inhabitants  known  as  villeins,  who  held  lands 
from  the  lord,  at  his  will,  and  in  return  for  certain  services 
hereafter  to  be  named.  They  were  the  highest  class  of 
villagers  and  formed  the  jury  at  the  Halimote  or  manorial 
court.  Their  holdings  were  hereditary,  and  passed  by 
re-grant  of  the  lord,  from  father  to  son  by  the  rule  of  primo- 
geniture, on  payment  of  the  customary  heriot  or  relief, 
exacted  down  to  recent  times,  many  years  after  the  services, 
which  the  lord  was  supposed  to  have  rendered  for  it,  had 
fallen  into  desuetude.  They  could  and  did  make  wills,  and 
but  for  certain  other  features  of  their  position  might  have 
been  looked  upon  as  free  men.  But  they  had  to  perform 
certain  services  for  their  lord,  and  these  were  of  three 
kinds  : — (i)  Week-work,  or  so  many  days,  generally  three,  of 
labour  for  the  lord.  The  amount  and  kind  of  this  work, 
whether  reaping,  ploughing  or  otherwise,  was  regulated  by 
custom.  (2)  Precarite,  or  boon-work,  which  was  special 
work  performed  at  request  and  sometimes  counted  as  part 
of  the  week-work,  sometimes  as  extra  to  it.  (3)  Payments 
in  money  or  kind  or  work  rendered  by  way  of  rent  or 
Gafol,  with  various  dues,  such  as  Kirk-scot,  Hearth-penny 
and  Easter  dues.    All  these  of  course  might  have  been  looked 


igS  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

upon  as  being  of  the  nature  of  rent,  rates  and  taxes,  but  there 
were  other  rules  to  which  the  villeins  were  subject  which 
were  far  more  distinctly  servile  than  those  just  enumerated. 
Thus  if  a  villein  wished  to  marry  his  daughter  to  any  one,  he 
had  first  to  obtain  a  licence  from  his  lord.  If  she  lost  her 
chastity,  the  father  was  fined,  and  if  the  village  jury  became 
cognisant  of  the  fact  and  did  not  report  it  to  the  lord,  they 
were  all  fined.  No  villein  might  sell  an  ox  without  his 
lord's  permission,  and  if  he  left  the  village,  he  was  searched 
for,  and,  when  found,  arrested  as  a  fugitive  and  taken  back. 
He  must  also  use  his  lord's  flour-mill  for  the  grinding  of  his 
corn. 

A  somewhat  inferior  class  of  villagers  was  that  of  the 
cotarii  or  bordarii,  sometimes  possessed  of  no  land,  some- 
times of  only  a  garden.  In  other  cases  they  had  a  holding 
possibly  of  only  one  acre,  or  even  so  many  as  ten,  in  the 
open  fields  near  the  village.  But  typically  the  cotarius  was 
a  cottager — indeed,  our  present  word  is  derived  from  the 
earlier — who  held,  in  addition  to  his  cottage,  five  acres  in 
the  open  fields.  He  was  subordinate  to  the  villein,  did  not 
ordinarily  share  in  the  deliberations  of  the  manorial  court, 
put  no  oxen  into  the  village  plough-team  and  took  no 
part  in  the  common  ploughing.  He  performed  services  for 
his  lord  of  a  character  somewhat  more  trivial  than  those  of 
the  villein.  Below  the  cotarius  was  the  servus  or  slave,  but 
before  dealing  with  him  it  will  be  well  to  say  something 
about  the  corporate  character  of  the  village,  a  strongly 
marked  feature  in  such  communities.  It  possessed  several 
officials,  such  as  the  blacksmith,  whose  duty  it  was  to  keep 
in  repair  the  ironwork  of  the  ploughs  of  the  village,  and  the 
carpenter,  who  had  charge  of  the  woodwork.  These  officials 
held  their  lands  free  from  the  ordinary  services  on  account 
of  the  duties  which  they  performed  for  the  community. 
The  affairs  of  the  village  were  arranged  at  the  Folkmoot, 
which  was  held  at  some  sacred  tree  or  mound   or  stone. 


TRIBAL   AND   VILLAGE   COMMUNITIES       199 

Here  its  officials  were  appointed,  its  lands  distributed  and 
its  other  business  transacted.  The  Folkmoot  was  in  fact  a 
kind  of  village  council,  like  those  recently  re-established, 
but  with  much  wider  powers,  since  it  could  inflict  punish- 
ments for  offences  against  its  laws. 

In  all  the  corporate  life  of  the  village  the  villeins  took  the 
main,  often  the  sole  share,  the  cotarii  were  sometimes 
allowed  to  assist  in  it,  but  the  servus  or  thew  was  an  abso- 
lute serf,  and  had  no  part  whatever  in  the  deliberations  of 
the  Folkmoot,  however  much  they  might  affect  him.  The 
class  of  servi  or  theows,  sprang,  says  Mr.  Green,  "  mainly 
from  debt  or  crime.  Famine  drove  men  to  bend  their 
heads  in  the  evil  days  for  meat;  the  debtor,  unable  to 
discharge  his  debt,  flung  on  the  ground  his  freeman's  sword 
and  spear,  took  up  the  labourer's  mattock,  and  placed  his 
head  as  a  slave  within  his  master's  hands.  The  criminal, 
whose  kinsfolk  would  not  make  up  his  fine,  became  a  serf 
of  the  plaintiff  or  of  the  crown.  Sometimes  a  father  sold 
his  children  and  wife  into  bondage  when  pressed  by  need. 
In  any  case  the  slave  became  part  of  the  live-stock  of  his 
master's  estate,  to  be  willed  away  at  death  with  horse  and 
ox,  whose  pedigree  was  kept  as  carefully  as  his  own.  His 
children  were  bondsmen  like  himself,  even  a  freeman's 
children  by  a  slave  mother  inherited  the  slave's  taint.  '  Mine 
is  the  calf  which  is  born  of  my  cow '  ran  an  English  proverb. 
It  was  not,  indeed,  slavery  such  as  we  have  known  in  modern 
times,  for  stripes  and  bonds  were  rare  ;  if  the  slave  was  slain, 
it  was  by  an  angry  blow,  not  by  the  lash.  But  his  master 
could  slay  him  if  he  would ;  it  was  but  a  chattel  the  less. 
The  slave  had  no  place  in  the  justice-court,  no  kinsmen  to 
claim  vengeance  or  guilt-fine  for  his  wrong.  If  a  stranger 
slew  him,  his  lord  claimed  the  damages  ;  if  guilty  of  wrong- 
doing, his  skin  paid  for  him  under  his  master's  lash.  If  he 
fled  he  might  be  chased  like  a  strayed  beast,  and  when 
caught  he  might  be  flogged  to  death.     If  the  wrong-doer 


200  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

were  a  woman  she  might  be  burnt."  No  doubt  the  dialogue 
of  ^ifric,  in  which  the  inquirer  holds  a  conversation  with 
a  theow,  represents  fairly  what  must  have  been  the  feelings 
of  so  miserable  a  class.  The  inquirer  asks,  "What  sayest 
thou,  ploughman  ?  How  dost  thou  thy  work  ?  "  and  the 
ploughman  replies,  "  Oh,  my  lord,  hard  do  I  work.  I  go 
out  at  daybreak  driving  the  oxen  to  field,  and  I  yoke  them 
to  the  plough.  Nor  is  it  ever  so  hard  winter  that  I  dare 
lurk  at  home,  for  fear  of  my  lord,  but  the  oxen  yoked,  and 
the  ploughshare  and  coulter  fastened  to  the  plough,  every 
day  must  I  plough  a  full  acre  or  more."  "  Hast  thou  any 
comrade ? "  "I  have  a  boy  driving  the  oxen  with  an  iron 
goad,  who  also  is  hoarse  with  cold  and  shouting."  "  What 
more  dost  thou  in  the  day?"  "Verily  then  I  do  more. 
I  must  fill  the  bin  of  the  oxen  with  hay,  and  water  them, 
and  carry  out  the  dung.  Ha  !  ha !  Hard  work  it  is  !  be- 
cause I  am  not  free." 

The  land  around  the  village  which  belonged  to  the  villeins 
and  cottars  was  not  cut  up  into  fields  separated  from  one 
another  by  hedges  as  is  our  land  now.  On  the  contrary, 
the  fields  were  quite  open,  and  the  separate  holdings  were 
divided  from  one  another  by  narrow  strips  or  balks  of  turf, 
so  that  they  must  have  very  much  resembled  what  we  are 
now  beginning  to  be  familiar  with  as  allotment  pieces,  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  many  towns  and  villages.  Roughly 
speaking  each  of  these  strips  of  land  would  be  about  an  acre 
in  size,  and  arranged  so  as  to  be  of  the  most  convenient 
size  for  ploughing.  Indeed,  the  names  of  the  divisions  by 
which  land  is  measured  recall  the  primitive  importance  of 
the  plough,  for  the  furlong  is  the  "  furrow-long,"  or  the 
length  of  the  furrow  which  the  plough  made  before  it  was 
convenient  to  turn  it,  and  as  this  is  called  quaroiiena  in 
the  Latin  documents  of  the  period,  we  gather  that  it  con- 
sisted of  forty  rods.  The  word  rood  corresponds  to  as 
many  furrows  as  could  be  made  in  the  breadth  of  a  rod. 


TRIBAL   AND   VILLAGE   COMMUNITIES       201 

and  four  of  these  rods  or  roods  laid  side  by  side  made  and 
still  make  up  the  statute  acre. 

Between  the  ends  of  the  strips  were  often  little  bits  of 
land,  filling  in  disused  corners  perhaps  awkwardly  situated 
for  ploughing.  These  were  called  "  no  man's  land,"  "  any 
man's  land,"  "  Jack's  piece,"  or,  in  Scotland,  consecrated 
as  a  propitiatory  offering  to  the  devil,  under  the  name  of 
"Cloutie's  croft,"  or  "the  gudeman's  field."  It  is  highly 
probable  that  we  may  find  an  explanation  of  this  fact 
in  the  custom  existing  elsewhere  amongst  primitive  people 
of  leaving  a  patch  of  uncleared  ground  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood or  even  in  the  midst  of  land  which  they  were 
breaking  up  for  cultivation,  such  patch  being  intended  as  a 
place  of  refuge  for  the  sylvan  deities  whose  dominions  had 
been  invaded. 

The  strips  of  arable  land  were  arranged  in  three  fields 
or  areas,  one  of  which  was  fallowed  each  year,  a  regular 
rotation  of  crops  being  thus  insured.  They  were  divided 
up  amongst  the  villeins,  each  of  whom  possessed  a  certain 
number,  not  lying  side  by  side  as  one  would  have  sup- 
posed, but  scattered  here  and  there  apparently  at  hazard 
over  the  three  fields.  The  normal  holding  for  a  villein  was 
called  a  virgate  and  consisted  of  thirty  acres,  ten  in  each  of 
the  three  fields.  Such  a  portion  of  property  was  also  called 
a  yardland.  Although  there  seem  to  have  been  some  varia- 
tions in  this  matter,  as  a  rule  there  seem  to  have  been  four 
virgates — i.e.^  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  a  hide  of 
land.  Four  of  these,  again,  were  taxed  forty  shillings  for 
scutage  or  maintenance  of  a  knight,  that  area  of  land 
bearing,  therefore,  the  name  of  a  knight's  fee.  The  hide 
was  also  called  a  carucate,  a  word  which  is  derived  from  the 
Latin  caruca,  a  plough  or  plough-team.  A  carucate,  therefore, 
being  the  amount  of  land  capable  of  being  cultivated  by  a 
full  ox-team,  which,  it  may  parenthetically  be  said,  consisted 
of  eight  beasts,  may  very  well  have  varied  with  the  nature 


202  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

of  the  soil  and  country,  and  this  in  fact  we  find  it  did. 
We  have  already  seen  that  the  communal  officers  took 
charge  of  the  village  ploughs,  and  the  beasts  which  drew 
them  were  the  property  of  the  villeins,  the  size  of  whose 
holdings  determined  the  number  of  animals  which  each  was 
required  to  supply.  Thus  the  smallest  division  of  land 
which  a  villein  might  hold  was  a  bovate,  and  as  this  word  is 
derived  from  the  Latin  />os,  an  ox,  it  suggests  the  possession 
of  one  of  these  animals.  Double  this  amount  of  land  was  a 
virgate,  the  normal  holding  of  the  villein,  who  must  supply 
two  oxen  to  the  team.  The  hide  or  carucate,  containing 
four  virgates,  would  then  correspond  to  the  full  team  of 
eight.  The  same  system  of  co-operative  ploughing  explains 
apparently  the  way  in  which  the  pieces  of  land  came  to  be 
scattered  over  the  three  fields.  The  Welsh  laws  relating  to 
the  co-aration  of  the  waste,  or  communal  ploughing,  throw 
considerable  light  on  this  subject.  Here  also  the  team 
consisted  of  eight  oxen,  and  all  those  who  shared  in  its 
benefits  had  to  supply  their  quota,  whether  of  beasts  or 
implements,  which  were  handed  over  to  the  common 
ploughman.  When  the  ground  was  ploughed,  the  first  erw 
(a  piece  of  ground  about  the  size  of  an  acre)  went  to  the 
ploughman,  the  second  to  the  owner  of  the  plough  irons,  the 
third  to  the  outside  sod-ox,  the  fourth  to  the  outside  sward- 
ox,  the  fifth  to  the  driver,  from  the  sixth  to  the  eleventh 
inclusive  to  the  remaining  oxen,  the  owners  of  the  beasts 
being  in  each  case  of  course  meant,  and,  finally,  the  twelfth 
was  reserved  for  plough-bote,  that  is  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  wood-work  of  the  plough,  and  thus  the  "  tie  "  of  twelve 
erws  was  completed.  In  case  of  disputes  as  to  the  quality 
of  the  work  done,  there  was  a  very  common-sense  method 
of  settling  the  matter.  "  Let  the  erw  of  the  ploughman  be 
examined  as  to  the  depth,  length,  and  breadth  of  the 
furrow,  and  let  every  one's  be  completed  alike."  It  is  quite 
easy  to  see  how  by  such  a  division  of  the  ploughed  land,  the 


TRIBAL   AND   VILLAGE   COMMUNITIES       203 

owner  of,  say,  the  outside  sward- ox,  might  have  his  strips 
scattered  over  the  whole  area  and  at  some  distance  from  one 
another.  But  there  was  yet  another  way  in  which  this 
might  have  occurred,  for,  as  Mr.  Gomme  has  pointed  out,  in 
some  cases  there  was  an  annual  re-distribution  of  the  strips 
by  lot.  He  gives  the  following  instance  of  how  this  took 
place  up  to  a  recent  date.  In  the  parishes  of  Congresbury 
and  Puxton  (Somersetshire)  are  two  large  pieces  of  common 
land,  called  East  and  West  Dolemoors  (from  the  Saxon  dal, 
which  means  a  share  or  portion),  which  were  divided  into 
single  acres,  each  bearing  a  different  and  peculiar  mark  cut 
in  the  turf — such  as  a  horn,  four  oxen  and  a  mare,  a  pole- 
axe,  cross,  dung-fork,  oven,  duck's  nest,  hand-reel,  and  hare's 
tail.  On  the  Saturday  before  old  Midsummer,  several  pro- 
prietors of  estates  in  the  parishes  of  Congresbury,  Puxton 
and  Week  St.  Laurence,  or  their  tenants,  assembled  on  the 
commons.  A  number  of  apples  were  previously  prepared, 
which  were  marked  in  the  same  manner  as  the  above  men- 
tioned acres.  These  were  distributed  by  a  young  lad  to  each 
of  the  commoners  from  a  bag  or  hat.  At  the  close  of  the 
distribution  each  person  repaired  to  his  allotment,  as 
determined  by  the  apple,  and  took  possession  of  it  for  the 
year. 

It  will  now  sum  up  these  facts  as  to  the  village,  if  we 
take  one  example  of  a  manor,  and  see  how  it  was  divided, 
and  for  that  purpose  we  may  choose  that  of  Westminster. 
The  Domesday  Book  records  that  "  in  villa  ubi  sedet 
Ecclesia  Sci.  Petri  (the  Abbey)  the  abbot  of  the  same  place 
holdeth  13^  hides.  There  is  land  for  11  plough  teams. 
To  the  demesne  belong  9  hides  and  i  virgate,  and  there  are 
4  plough  teams.  The  villeins  have  9  plough  teams,  and  one 
more  might  be  made.     There  are  : 

9  villani  with  a  virgate  each ; 

I  villanus  with  a  hide  ; 

9  villani  with  a  half-virgate  each  ; 


204  I^IFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

I  cottier  with  five  acres  ; 

41    cottiers    rendering   a   shilling    each   yearly  for   their 
gardens ; 

There  is  meadow  for  1 1  plough  teams ; 

Pasture  for  the  cattle  of  the  village  ; 

Wood  for  100  pigs. 
There  are  25  houses  of  the  abbot's  soldiers  and  of  other 
men,  who  render  Ss.  per  annum  or  ;^io  in  all.  In  the 
same  villa  Rainardus  holds  3  hides  of  the  abbot.  There  is 
land  for  two  plough  teams,  and  they  are  there  in  demesne, 
and  one  cottier.  Wood  for  100  pigs.  Pasture  for  cattle. 
Four  arpents  of  vineyard  newly  planted.  All  these  are 
worth  60^.  This  land  belonged  and  belongs  to  the  Church 
of  S.  Peter." 

It  is  clear  from  this  description,  says  Mr.  Seebohm,  that 
the  village  which  nestled  around  the  new  minster  just  com- 
pleted by  Edward  the  Confessor  was  on  a  manor  of  the 
abbot.  It  consisted  of  twenty-five  houses  of  the  abbot's 
immediate  followers,  nineteen  homesteads  of  villani,  forty- 
two  cottages  with  their  little  gardens,  and  one  of  them  with 
five  acres  of  land.  There  was  also  the  larger  homestead  of 
the  sub-manor  of  the  abbot's  under-tenant,  with  a  single 
cottage  and  a  vineyard  of  four  half-acres,  recently  planted. 
There  was  meadow  enough  by  the  river-side  to  make  hay 
for  the  herd  of  oxen  belonging  to  the  dozen  plough-teams 
of  the  village,  and  pasture  for  them  and  other  cattle. 
Further  round  the  village,  in  open  fields,  were  about  one 
thousand  acres  of  arable  land,  mostly  in  the  acre  strips, 
lying,  no  doubt,  in  their  shots  or  furlongs,  and  divided  by 
green  turf  balks  and  field-ways.  Lastly,  surrounding  the 
whole  on  the  land  side  were  the  woods  where  the  swine- 
herds found  mast  for  the  two  hundred  pigs  of  the  place. 

The  open-field  system  of  culture  existed  for  many  years 
until  it  was  abolished  by  a  series  of  Enclosure  Acts,  many 
of  which  were  passed  during  the  end  of  the  last  and  begin- 


TRIBAL   AND   VILLAGE   COMMUNITIES       205 

ning  of  the  present  century.  The  Commissioners  appointed 
for  this  purpose  caused  the  fields  to  be  re-divided,  hedges 
and  roads  to  be  made,  and  re-distributed  the  land  to  those 
amongst  whom  it  had  previously  been  held.  When  it  is 
known  that  nearly  four  thousand  Enclosure  Acts  were  passed 
between  the  years  1760  and  1844,  it  will  be  understood  how 
widely  prevalent  the  open-field  system  of  culture  must  once 
have  been.  In  the  report  of  the  Crofter  Commission  of 
1884  there  is,  as  Mr.  Gomme  has  pointed  out,  an  interest- 
ing account  of  the  survival  of  this  system,  not,  indeed,  on 
what  is  technically  a  manor,  but  in  connection  with  the 
village  community  living  on  the  island  of  Heisgeier,  one  of 
the  Outer  Hebrides.  This  community  consisted  of  ten 
tenants,  or  more  properly  of  twelve,  since  two  of  the  ten 
have  two  shares  each  instead  of  one ;  these  may  be  called 
the  villagers.  There  are  as  officers  of  the  community  the 
niaor,  the  constable  and  the  herdsman.  The  maor  is 
appointed  by  the  lord's  factor,  and  acts  as  a  kind  of  sub- 
factor.  The  constable  is  elected  by  the  villagers  in  a  most 
primitive  and  interesting  fashion.  The  people  meet  together 
at  a  gathering  which  is  called  "  Nabac  "  or  neighbourliness, 
or,  if  presided  over  by  the  maor,  it  is  called  mod  or  moot. 
The  place  of  meeting  is  called  Cnoc  na  Comhairle,  the 
Council  Hill,  or  Clac  na  Comhairle,  the  Council  Stone. 
The  constable,  having  been  elected,  takes  off  his  shoes  and 
stockings,  uncovers  his  head,  and,  bowing  reverently  low, 
promises  in  presence  of  heaven  and  earth,  of  God  and  men, 
that  he  will  be  faithful  to  his  trust.  At  Hallowtide  the 
villagers  meet  and  decide  upon  the  piece  of  ground  within 
their  mark  which  is  to  be  broken  up  for  arable  cultivation,  a 
different  piece  being  selected  every  three  years,  and  the  old 
ground  put  under  grazing  as  before.  The  allotment  of  the 
land  is  the  next  process.  The  constable  takes  a  rod,  and 
divides  the  land  into  equal  divisions.  At  the  boundary  of 
each  division  he  cuts  a  mark  in  the  ground,  which  is  called 


2o6  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

the  Tore,  and  resembles  the  Government  broad-arrow.  A 
man,  probably  the  herdsman,  is  then  sent  out  from  the 
meeting,  and  each  of  six  men  then  put  a  lot  into  a  bonnet ; 
the  man  sent  out  is  then  recalled,  and  the  bonnet  is  handed 
to  him.  From  this  the  man  takes  the  lots  and  places  them 
one  after  one  on  a  line  on  the  ground,  the  order  in  which 
they  thus  stand  being  the  order  in  which  the  owners  of  the 
lots  stand  to  one  another,  each  man  knowing  his  own  mark. 
The  two  tenants  who  have  double  shares  retain  their  two 
shares  each ;  the  four  other  tenants  sub-divide  their  divi- 
sions with  four  other  men,  whom  they  thus  represent  at  the 
division.  These  sub-divisions  are  called  Imirean  or  lomai- 
rean,  rigs  or  ridges,  and  each  two  tenants  cast  lots  again  for 
the  sub-divided  rigs.  A  piece  of  ground  is  then  set  apart 
for  the  herdsman,  which  is  the  outside  rig  bordering  on  the 
grazings,  and  further  pieces  of  ground  are  set  out  for  the 
poor.  Thus  we  find  that  the  system  of  village-community 
which  existed  at  least  through  the  Saxon  period  has  made 
its  influence  deeply  and  directly  felt  through  the  whole  of 
the  succeeding  history  of  the  country.  The  open-field 
system  of  culture  has,  it  is  true,  departed,  but  the  garden 
allotments  and  the  Acts  which  provide  for  them  are  an 
attempt  to  keep  upon  the  land  a  class  of  cottars  very  similar 
to  those  of  the  older  manor.  And  it  has  already  been  re- 
marked that  the  recently  originated  parish  councils  are  the 
lineal  descendants  and  legitimate  successors  of  the  folk  moots 
of  former  days.  In  the  present  chapter  it  has  been  desired 
to  give  some  insight  into  the  life  of  the  village,  rather  than 
to  discuss  any  of  the  interesting  problems  related  to  it.  For 
this  and  other  information  on  the  subject  the  reader  is 
advised  to  consult  the  exhaustive  works  of  Mr.  Seebohm  and 
Mr.  Clomme,  from  which,  indeed,  all  the  facts  mentioned  in 
this  brief  account  have  been  gathered. 


CHAPTER  XI 
SOME  TRACES  OF  THE  PAST  RACES  OF  BRITAIN 

Traces  in  Language — Physical  characteristics — Names   of 
Places, 

In  considering  what  effects  the  various  races  with  which  this 
book  is  concerned  have  had  on  the  present  population  of 
these  islands,  it  may  be  well  briefly  to  recapitulate  the 
peoples  whom  we  have  to  take  into  account.  Omitting 
all  the  innumerable  admixtures  which  have  taken  place 
within  historic  times,  and  turning  only  to  the  earlier  races, 
we  have  at  least  one  non- Aryan  people  to  deal  with — namely, 
those  of  the  Neolithic  period.  It  may  be  that  there  are 
traces  and  remnants  amongst  us  of  the  blood  of  the  ancient 
cave-dweller  of  the  rough  Stone  age ;  but  if  so  it  may  be 
said  quite  safely  that  they  are  unrecognisable,  and  there- 
fore to  be  neglected.  Then  we  have  Goidels,  Brythons, 
Saxons,  Danes  and  Normans  all  belonging  to  Aryan  races. 
The  Romans  must  be  omitted  from  our  calculations,  for 
though  it  would  be  unsafe  to  say  that  they  have  left  no 
ethnological  legacy  behind  them,  from  the  nature  of  their 
occupation  of  the  country  it  cannot  have  been  equal  in 
share  to  that  of  the  other  races,  and  is  apparently  un- 
traceable. To  attempt  a  linguistic  inquiry  as  to  the  share 
of  the  different  races  in  the  production  of  the  present 
population  is  no  part  of  the  intention  of  this  book,  nor 
would  sux:h  an  attempt  be  very  profitable.  In  his  essay 
on  "  Fixed  Points  in  English  Ethnology,"  the  late  Professor 


2o8  LIFE     IN    EARLY   BRITAIN 

Huxley  shows  how  false  any  estimate  based  upon  the 
present  speech  must  be.  "In  Gaul,"  he  writes,  "the  im- 
ported Teutonic  dialect  has  been  completely  overpowered 
by  the  more  or  less  modified  Latin,  which  it  found  already 
in  possession ;  and  what  Teutonic  blood  there  may  be  in 
modern  Frenchmen  is  not  adequately  represented  in  their 
language.  In  Britain,  on  the  contrary,  the  Teutonic  dialects 
have  overpowered  the  pre-existing  forms  of  speech,  and 
the  people  are  vastly  less  Teutonic  than  their  language. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  extent  to  which  the  Celtic- 
speaking  population  of  the  eastern  half  of  Britain  was 
trodden  out  and  supplanted  by  the  Teutonic-speaking 
Saxons  and  Danes,  it  is  quite  certain  that  no  considerable 
displacement  of  the  Celtic-speaking  people  occurred  in 
Cornwall,  Wales  or  the  Highlands  of  Scotland ;  and  that 
nothing  approaching  to  the  extinction  of  that  people  took 
place  in  Devonshire,  Somerset  or  the  western  moiety  of 
Britain  generally.  Nevertheless,  the  fundamentally  Teu- 
tonic English  language  is  now  spoken  throughout  Britain, 
except  by  an  insignificant  fraction  of  the  population  in 
Wales  and  the  Western  Highlands.  But  it  is  obvious  that 
this  fact  affords  not  the  slightest  justification  for  the  com- 
mon practice  of  speaking  of  the  present  inhabitants  of 
Britain  as  an  Anglo-Saxon  people.  It  is,  in  fact,  just  as 
absurd  as  the  habit  of  talking  of  the  French  people  as  a 
Latin  race  because  they  speak  a  language  which  is,  in 
the  main  derived  from  Latin.  And  the  absurdity  becomes 
the  more  patent  when  those  who  have  no  hesitation  in 
calling  a  Devonshire  man  or  a  Cornish  man  an  Anglo- 
Saxon  would  think  it  ridiculous  to  call  a  Tipperary  man 
by  the  same  title,  though  he  and  his  forefathers  may  have 
.spoken  English  for  as  long  a  time  as  the  Cornish  man."  In 
attributing  small  value  to  linguistic  evidence  as  a  means  of 
help  in  unravelling  the  tangled  skein  of  English  ethnology, 
it  must  not  be  supposed  that  sufficient  importance  has  not 


TRACES   OF   PAST    RACES   OF   BRITAIN       209 

been  attached  to  the  eftbrts  in  this  direction  of  the  Dialect 
Society,  which  promise  some  day  to  throw  light  upon  the 
subject ;  but  it  is  perhaps  not  unfair  to  say  that  the  time  is 
not  yet  come  when  a  linguistic  classilication  can  be  fully 
realised. 

Two  curious  linguistic  relics  there  are,  which  may  be  men- 
tioned, of  the  influence  of  the  Celt  on  his  Saxon  neighbour. 
The  first  is  that  of  the  rhyming  score,  which  is  met  with  in 
Scotland,Yorkshire;  Northumberland,  and  in  several  western 
and  central  counties.  It  is  a  method  adopted  by  shepherds 
of  counting  up  to  twenty  in  words  which  to  them  are  only  a 
meaningless  jingle,  but  which,  when  examined,  turn  out  to  be 
nothing  else  than  the  Welsh  numerals  up  to  that  amount.  The 
explanation  of  this  curious  custom  probably  is  that  in  earlier 
times  the  British  slaves  of  Saxon  lords  were  in  the  habit  of 
thus  reckoning  up  their  flocks  and  that  their  numerals 
became  converted  into  a  kind  of  jingle  by  their  fellows  of 
English  birth,  being  handed  down  by  them  to  their 
descendants,  who  have  lost  all  idea  of  the  real  meaning  of 
the  words  which  they  use.  The  other  instance  is  that  of 
the  local  word  cejfyl,  a  horse,  used  in  Worcestershire, 
Herefordshire  and  some  other  counties.  This  is  a  pure 
Welsh  word,  nor  need  one  feel  much  surprise  at  finding  it 
in  use  in  counties  where  the  Saxon  and  the  Brython  must 
have  had  many  dealings  in  horseflesh.  But  what  is  signifi- 
cant is  the  manner  in  which  it  is  used,  for  it  is  employed 
only  for  horses  of  the  poorest  type,  or  as  a  word  of  abuse 
from  one  person  to  another,  as  when  one  says  "  you  great 
keffil,"  meaning  you  clumsy  idiot.  This  mode  of  employ- 
ment shows  very  well  the  feeling  which  the  Saxon  entertained 
for  the  Celt,  a  feeling  of  contempt,  which  led  him,  whilst 
calling  his  own  steed  a  horse,  to  name  that  of  his  British 
neighbour  a  keffil,  and  imagine  that  by  so  doing  he 
disparaged  it.  That  this  feeling  was  returned  with  interest 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  and  in  proof  of  it  the  following 

o 


2IO  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

quatrain  may  be  quoted,  which,  though  Irish  in  origin  and 
therefore  giving  the  view  of  the  Goidel,  no  doubt  represented 
that  of  his  brother  the  Brython  with  equal  accuracy. 
Describing  the  characteristics  of  different  races  the  bard 
exclaims  : 

For  acuteness  and  valour,  the  Greeks, 

For  excessive  pride,  the  Romans, 

For  dulness,  the  creeping  Saxons, 

For  beauty  and  amourousness,  the  Gaedhils, 

The  most  valuable  data  to  hand  for  solving  the  ethno- 
logical problem  are  those  afforded  by  the  laborious  observa- 
tions of  Dr.  Beddoes,  of  which  large  use  has  been  made  in  the 
following  sketch.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  clear,  as  Mr.  Elton 
points  out,  that  in  many  parts  of  Ireland  there  are  remnants 
of  a  short,  black-haired  stock,  probably  of  pre-Celtic  origin. 
The  tribal  names  of  these  peoples  are  in  many  cases  taken 
from  words  for  the  Darkness  and  the  Mist,  and  their 
physical  appearance  is  quite  different  from  that  of  the  tall, 
light  Celts.  The  same  thing  has  been  observed  in  the 
Scottish  Highlands,  and  in  the  Western  Isles,  where  the 
people  have  a  "  strange  foreign  look,"  and  are  dark-skinned, 
dark-haired,  dark-eyed  and  small  in  stature.  Campbell,  in 
his  "  West  Highland  Tales,"  speaking  of  the  short,  dark 
natives  of  Barra,  says  :  "  Behind  the  fire  sat  a  girl  with  one 
of  those  strange  foreign  faces  which  are  occasionally  to  be 
seen  in  the  Western  Isles,  a  face  which  reminded  me  of  the 
Nineveh  sculptures  and  of  faces  seen  in  St.  Sebastian. 
Her  hair  was  as  black  as  night,  her  clear  eyes  glittered 
through  the  peat-smoke.  Her  complexion  was  dark  and 
her  features  so  unlike  those  who  sat  about  her  that  I  asked 
if  she  were  a  native  of  the  island  and  learned  that  she  was 
a  Highland  girl."  Again,  in  many  parts  of  England  and 
Wales  the  people  are  short  and  swarthy,  with  black  hair 
and  eyes,  and  with  long,  narrow  heads.  This  is  found  to 
be  the  case  not  only  in  the  ancient  Siluria  (comprising  the 


TRACES   OF   PAST   RACES   OF   BRITAIN       211 

modern  counties  of  Glamorgan,  Brecknock,  Monmouth, 
Radnor  and  Hereford),  but  in  several  districts  in  the  fen- 
country,  and  in  the  south-western  counties  of  Cornwall  and 
Devon,  with  parts  of  Gloucester,  Wilts  and  Somerset.  The 
same  fact  has  been  noticed  in  the  Midland  counties,  in 
districts  round  Derby,  Stamford,  Leicester  and  Lough- 
borough ;  where  we  might  have  expected  to  find  nothing 
but  a  population  with  light  hair  and  eyes,  and  where  "  the 
names  of  the  towns  and  villages  show  that  the  Saxon  and 
Danish  conquerors  occupied  the  district  in  overwhelming 
numbers."  That  such  people  may  be  the  representatives  of 
the  Neolithic  inhabitants  of  these  islands  is  at  least  possible, 
if  not  highly  probable. 

When  we  come  to  try  and  decide  the  exact  nature  of  the 
population  of  any  given  district  we  approach  a  most  difficult 
and  unsatisfactory  problem.  That  there  are  differences  in 
physiognomy  and  in  bodily  characteristics  must  have  been 
noticed  by  any  traveller  through  the  country  who  has  taken 
the  trouble  to  keep  his  eyes  open.  Such  an  observant 
traveller  may  find  himself  remarking  with  Mr.  Hardy  that 
some  flexible  mouth  which  he  has  seen  never  "came  over 
from  Sleswig  with  a  band  of  Saxon  pirates^  whose  lips  met 
like  the  two  halves  of  a  muffin,"  but  if  he  tries  to  push  his 
investigations  further  and  say  where  it  did  come  from  he  is  at 
once  encompassed  round  about  with  innumerable  difficulties. 

It  will,  therefore,  only  be  attempted  to  point  out  in  a  very 
general  way  some  indications,  which  Dr.  Beddoes  thinks  he 
has  been  able  to  perceive,  as  to  the  nature  of  the  population 
of  some  of  the  districts  of  England.  In  the  Shetlands,  for 
example,  the  population  is  unquestionably  largely  Norse  in 
its  origin,  though  there  are  other  elements  mixed  with  it. 
In  the  Lewis  there  are  three  types :  the  large,  fair,  comely 
Norse  type,  said  to  exist  almost  pure  at  Ness  in  the  north  part 
of  the  island  ;  the  short,  thick-set,  snub-nosed,  dark-haired, 
often  even  dark-eyed  race,  which  Dr.  Beddoes  thinks  may 


212  LIFE   IN    EARLY     BRITAIN 

be  possibly  Finnish,  whose  centre  is  at  Barvas ;  and  the 
West  Highland  type,  which  has  gradually  filtered  in,  and  is 
usually  characterised  by  an  athletic  figure  of  medium 
height,  a  bony  face,  long  sinuous  pointed  nose,  grey  eyes 
and  dark  hair.  The  Norsemen  have  also  had  their  influence 
on  the  Hebrides  and  the  Isle  of  Man,  in  which  there  are 
many  Norse  names,  especially  that  of  Sneefell,  the  highest 
mountain,  which  is  purely  Norse.  Indeed  there  is  another 
instance  of  the  fact  constantly  under  our  eyes,  though 
recognised  by  few,  and  that  is  the  title  of  the  Bishop  of 
Sodor  and  ]\Ian.  The  Hebrides  were  called  the  Sudreyjar, 
or  southern  islands,  by  the  Norsemen,  and  the  See  which 
they  founded  was  united  with  that  of  Man  in  the  eleventh 
century,  and  made  dependent  on  the  Archbishop  of 
Drontheim  in  Norway,  by  whom,  till  1334,  the  Episcopi 
Sudorenses  were  always  consecrated.  The  Bishop  of  Sodor 
and  Man  still  retains  his  titular  supremacy  over  those 
southern  islands  which  have  long  ceased  to  have  any 
other  connection  with  him.  Beyond  this  influence  Man  is 
strongly  Goidelic,  as  is  shown  by  the  tongue,  the  people's 
names  and  their  ideas.  These  instances  of  comparatively 
isolated  spots  have  been  cited,  in  order  to  show  how  much 
admixture  there  is  of  races  even  in  those  districts  where  we 
should  expect  to  find  the  strain  most  pure.  Even  in 
Aranmore,  an  extremely  isolated  island  on  the  west  coast  of 
Ireland,  Professor  Haddon  found  a  mixed  race,  some  of  the 
islanders  even  having  French  blood  in  their  veins.  It  will 
not  be  difficult  from  this  to  understand  how  great  the 
admixture  of  races  must  be  in  places  where  for  centuries 
there  have  been  so  many  and  so  various  currents  of  popula- 
tion constantly  ebbing  and  flowing.  Speaking  generally  we 
may  say  that  we  find  the  largest  amount  of  Celtic  blood  on 
the  western  side  of  the  island  and  notably  in  Wales  and 
Cornwall,  and  that  of  the  rest  we  find  the  Danish  influence 
most  marked  in  those  parts  of  the  country  which  are  to  the 


TRACES   OF    PAST    RACES   OF    BRITAIN       213 

north  of  the  WatHng  Street  and  towards  the  east  coast. 
But  even  here  great  limitations  must  be  placed.  Some 
counties  were  much  more  completely  colonised  by  the 
Danes  than  others,  and  of  these  Leicester  may  serve  as  an 
example.  Nottinghamshire  and  Lincolnshire  are  Anglo- 
Danish,  the  latter  element  being  particularly  strong  in 
Lincolnshire  as  far  as  to  the  border  of  the  Fens.  The 
northern  part  of  Cambridgeshire,  known  as  the  Isle  of  Ely, 
is  said  to  contain  a  considerable  streak  of  British  blood,  a 
fact  which  may  be  explained  by  what  we  know  of  the 
inaccessibility  of  its  isles  and  deep  marshes  and  waters  at  a 
much  later  period. 

Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  on  the  other  hand,  are  more  Anglian 
than  Danish  or  British.  On  the  other  side  of  Watling 
Street  the  amount  of  Celtic  blood  mixed  with  the  Saxon 
varies  very  much  in  different  parts.  In  Warwickshire,  for 
example,  there  is  apparently  a  very  strong  admixture  of 
Celtic  blood,  a  fact  which  has  been  dwelt  upon  by  those 
who  attribute  a  strong  Celtic  strain  as  no  inconsiderable 
factor  in  the  genius  of  Shakespeare.  Nor  is  it  difficult  to 
understand  the  fact  of  this  admixture,  in  that  district,  for  we 
know  that  the  great  Forest  of  Arden,  which  covered  by  far 
the  greater  part  of  the  county,  was  one  of  the  fastnesses 
occupied  by  the  fugitive  Britons,  long  after  they  had  been 
dislodged  by  their  Saxon  adversaries  from  more  accessible 
spots.  In  fact,  Dr.  Beddoes  thinks  that  it  was  a  band  of 
the  Britons  of  this  district  which  united  with  Ceolric,  the 
Saxon  king,  at  the  battle  of  Wanborough,  in  591.  If  this 
be  so  it  would  show  that  they  were  living  on  terms  of 
neutrality,  if  not  of  friendship,  with  the  Saxon  invaders,  and 
under  these  circumstances,  they  may  well  have  increased 
their  numbers  and  by  intermarriage  with  their  alien  neigh- 
bours have  introduced  a  strong  infusion  of  their  blood  into 
the  dwellers  in  the  Arden  district.  East  Worcestershire  was 
one  of  Ceawlin's  colonies,  so  that  there  is  a  large  amount  of 


214  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

Saxon  blood  there.  Derbyshire  and  East  Staffordshire  are 
AngHan,  and  so  are  large  parts  of  Cheshire  and  Shropshire. 
But  on  the  Dee  and  along  the  west  of  Shropshire  the 
British  population  must  have  formed  a  considerable  element, 
especially  in  isolated  districts  like  that  of  Clun,  where  many 
of  the  names  are  still  A\'elsh.  The  same  remark  applies  to 
the  whole  of  Herefordshire,  of  which,  indeed,  Archeafield, 
the  trans-Wye  country,  and  some  portions  of  the  west 
border,  beyond  Offa's  Dyke,  were  never  colonised  by  the 
Saxons.  Dr.  Beddoes  particularly  insists  on  the  long  con- 
tinued reflux  of  the  Welsh  over  the  whole  of  the  Marches, 
which  has  rendered  the  preponderance  of  their  type, 
especially  amongst  the  lower  classes,  very  conspicuous.  The 
influence  of  this  double  race  in  the  double  town  of  Shrews- 
bury has  been  alluded  to  in  another  chapter.  Dr.  Beddoes 
considers  that  in  the  central  part  of  Oxfordshire  the  West- 
Saxon  type  is  very  strong,  and  hence,  extending  up  the 
valley  of  the  Thames,  it  affects  a  great  part  of  the  Cots- 
wolds,  the  hill  country  of  Gloucestershire,  and  even  the 
Severn  valley  as  far  as  the  Severn.  The  city  of  Gloucester 
is  supposed  to  have  survived  its  conquest  by  Ceawlin,  and 
its  markets  and  streets  stand  pretty  much  on  their  original 
sites.  To  the  Forest  of  Dean,  the  part  of  the  county 
beyond  the  river,  applies  what  has  been  said  of  Hereford- 
shire. The  peculiar  customs  of  the  miners  of  that  district 
date  back  to  a  Roman,  or  perhaps  even  to  a  pre-Roman 
period,  for  it  was  very  early  an  important  mining  centre,  and 
the  physical  type  of  the  inhabitants  does  not  seem  to  have 
appreciably  altered.  The  hair  is  generally  dark,  the  head 
long,  the  cheek-bones  prominent.  The  Severn,  adds  the 
same  writer,  is  a  distinct  ethnological  frontier ;  the  con- 
trast between  the  country  people  in  the  Eastgate  side  of 
Gloucester  on  a  market  day,  and  those  who  come  across 
the  bridge  from  the  Forest  side,  is  extremely  striking.  In  the 
north  and  east  of  Kent  Teutonic  types  preponderate,  with 


TRACES   OF   PAST    RACES   OF    BRITAIN       215 

light  or  brown  hair  ;  one  in  particular,  with  very  prominent 
profile,  is  claimed  by  some  observers  as  Jutic,  and  is  said  to 
be  frequent  also  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  and  the  Meon  district, 
near  Southampton.  There  is  more  British  influence  in 
Romney  Marsh  and  the  neighbouring  part  of  the  Weald. 
Chichester  and  Suffolk  generally  are,  as  may  be  supposed, 
strongly  Saxon.  The  type  possesses  regular  features, 
elliptical  head  and  face,  brows  moderately  arched,  nose 
straight,  often  rounded  or  bulbous  at  the  point,  mouth  well 
moulded,  complexion  fair  and  transparent,  eyes  well  open, 
iris  seldom  large,  of  a  beautiful  clear  blue,  but  sometimes 
brown  or  hazel,  hair  flaxen  or  brown  of  various  shade,  seldom 
bright,  curly  or  abundant.  Hampshire  also,  another  centre 
of  Saxon  colonisation,  bears  witness  to  the  fact  by  the  blonde 
character  of  the  population. 

In  Devon,  and  still  more  so  in  Cornwall,  we  find  more  and 
more  traces  of  British  influence.  Thus,  here  is  a  mixture 
of  races  in  all  parts,  and,  to  conclude  this  sketch,  it  may  be 
added  that  the  conquests  of  Ida,  the  Flame-Bearer,  and  the 
Bernicians,  filled  the  Lowland  parts  of  Scotland  with  Saxons, 
so  much  so,  that  to  this  day  the  English  tongue  is  preserved 
with  greater  purity  in  what  is  called  Southern  Scotland  than 
in  any  other  part  of  the  kingdom.  From  what  has  been 
said  it  will  be  understood  that  in  many  parts  of  the  country 
there  have  been  Celtic  influences  at  work  from  the  beginning, 
modifying  the  purity  of  race  of  the  Saxon  colonists,  and,  in 
addition  to  these,  in  estimating  the  real  nature  of  the  race, 
the  return  wave  of  Celts,  which  has  been  so  long  spreading 
over  the  country,  must  be  taken  into  account.  When  these 
two  sources  of  Celtic  influence  have  been  properly  appraised, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  population  of  England  is  very  far 
from  being  as  Anglo-Saxon  as  it  is  popularly  supposed  to 
be.  In  fact  it  may  with  reason  be  said  that  the  families  in 
England  which  do  not  contain  more  than  a  streak  of  Celtic 
blood  must  be  comparatively  very  few. 


2i6  LIFE   IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

The  evidence  which  is  gained  from  the  names  of  places 
tells  the  same  tale  of  the  occupation  of  the  country  by 
various  races.  Of  the  pre-Aryan  inhabitants  of  the  country 
it  cannot  be  said  that  there  are  any  certain  traces  of  this 
kind,  but  of  both  branches  of  the  Celts  we  find  them  in 
abundance.  Taking  first  the  Goidelic  wing,  and  choosing 
examples  mainly  from  England,  we  have  the  river  names 
derived  from  the  Gaelic  word  uisge,  water,  a  word  which 
we  are  most  familiar  with  under  its  very  slightly  altered  form 
of  whisky.  From  this  word  come  the  Esk,  the  Usk  and 
the  Ouse,  also  the  Exe,  for  Exeter  was  the  Isca  Damno- 
niorum  of  the  Romans,  and  the  first  part  of  its  name  was  the 
Latinised  form  of  uisge.  As  might  be  supposed  the  greater 
number  of  Celtic  names  in  England  are  Brythonic,  but 
Canon  Taylor  has  pointed  out  that  there  is  a  thin  stream  of 
GoideHc  names  which  extends  across  the  island  from  the 
Thames  to  the  Mersey,  such  as  Dunmow,  Ouse,  Ben 
Rhydding,  which^  he  thinks,  may  indicate  the  route  by 
which  the  Gael  traversed  the  country  as  he  was  driven  west- 
ward by  the  invading  Brython.  The  last-mentioned  name 
reminds  us  that  Ben  is  the  characteristic  Goidelic  name  for 
a  mountain,  and  is  met  with  in  numerous  instances  in  Scot- 
land, the  land  of  the  Gael.  Pen,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the 
equivalent  Brythonic  word,  and  occurs  with  frequency  in 
Wales.  The  leading  Brythonic  word  for  a  river  is  afoti, 
meaning  water.  This  word  forms  the  name  of  several  rivers 
in  England,  such  as  that  which  runs  through  Stratford-on- 
Avon,  and  it  is  quite  easy  to  see  how  several  isolated  bands 
of  Brythons  might  each  describe  the  river  of  their  own 
district  as  "The  Water."  In  Wales  the  word  is  found  in 
its  proper  place  as  the  prefix  to  some  specific  name,  such  as 
Afon  Llugwy  or  Afon  Lledr.  In  England  we  speak  of  the 
River  Avon,  one  of  various  pleonasms  which  have  arisen 
by  the  re-christening  of  a  place  by  successive  occupants 
ignorant  of  the  meaning  of  the  term  which  they  found  in 


TRACES   OF   PAST   RACES   OF   BRITAIN       217 

use  on  their  arrival.  A  good  instance  of  this  is  that  of  the 
hill  at  the  head  of  the  Yarrow,  which  is  named  Mount  Ben- 
jerlaw.  The  original  Celtic  name  was  Ben-yair,  the  moun- 
tain of  the  Yarrow,  to  this  the  Saxons  added  their  word 
Jilaw,  also  meaning  a  hill,  and  finally  in  Norman  times  the 
Latin  word  inons  gave  it  the  prefix  of  mount.  So  that  the 
whole  name  when  analysed  means,  hill  (Norman)  hill 
(Celtic)  Yarrow  hill  (Saxon).  Another  Brythonic  word, 
dun,  a  hill  fortress,  which  in  Wales  is  Dinas,  enters  into  the 
formation  of  some  names  and  did  so  in  Roman  times,  as  in 
the  case  of  Dunum,  and  Camulodunum.  Cwm,  combe, 
a  valley,  another  Brythonic  word,  occurs  frequently  in 
Somerset  and  Devon,  where,  as  we  have  seen,  Celtic  in- 
fluence was  always  strong,  and  is  met  with  as  The  Cwms  in 
Shropshire,  in  the  name  of  the  valley  east  of  Caer  Caradoc. 
Canon  Taylor  points  out  that  the  words  for  church  form 
a  good  index  of  colonisation,  when  they  enter,  as  they  so 
frequently  do,  into  the  names  of  places.  In  Goidelic  this  is 
kill,  a  word  met  with  in  no  less  than  1400  Irish  places,  of 
which  Kilkenny,  the  Church  of  St.  Canice,  will  serve  for  an 
example.  The  same  word  is  met  with  in  Scotland  with 
considerable  frequency  and  also  in  Wales,  though,  as  every 
one  knows,  the  Brythonic  term  llan  is  the  more  common 
prefix  in  that  country.  The  Anglo-Saxon  circe  becomes 
softened  into  church,  but  as  that  word  is  also  EngUsh  it  is 
no  test  of  colonisation.  The  Danes  hardened  the  same 
word  into  kirk,  and  that  prefix  is  met  with  in  sixty-eight 
cases  in  the  Danish  district,  as  for  example  in  Kirby,  the 
church  village,  and  Kirk  Oswald,  though  it  is  scarcely  ever 
met  with  in  parts  untouched  by  the  influence  of  the  Danes. 
Amongst  Saxon  words  that  of  ton,  the  palisaded  village,  and 
burh  or  borough,  the  house  of  the  strong  man,  occur  with 
great  frequency,  though  both  of  them  are  used  as  suffixes 
and  prefixes  to  towns  which  no  longer  preserve  the  condi- 
tions of  the  places  to  which  they  were  originally  assigned. 


?i8  LIFE    IN    EARLY    BRITAIN 

Roman  names  have  almost  entirely  disappeared,  though 
Spin?e  seems  to  linger  under  the  form  of  Speen  and  Castra 
Legionum  under  that  of  Caerleon.  But  the  word  castra 
under  one  or  other  of  its  corruptions  enables  us  to  recognise 
many  places  which  were  originally  Roman  cities  or  settle- 
ments. 

Canon  Taylor  has  drawn  attention  to  the  curious  modifi- 
cations of  the  word  castra,  which  has  been  altered  in  different 
ways  in  consonance  with  the  dialectic  peculiarities  of  different 
parts  of  the  kingdom.  Throughout  the  regions  of  Essex, 
Sussex,  Wessex,  and  other  Saxon  districts  the  form  Chester 
is  usual,  as  in  Colchester,  Godmanchester,  Grantchester, 
Rochester  and  Winchester.  As  we  pass  from  the  Saxon  to 
the  Anglian  district  we  find  Chester  replaced  by  caster. 
In  one  instance  at  least  the  two  forms  are  met  with  in  close 
proximity.  Northamptonshire,  which  is  Danish,  is  separated 
from  Huntingdonshire,  which  is  Saxon,  by  the  river  Nen. 
On  the  Saxon  side  of  the  river  we  have  the  village  of 
Chesterton,  confronted  on  the  opposite  side  by  the  town  of 
Castor,  both  names  recording  the  existence  of  the  Roman 
station  of  Durobrivse  which  guarded  the  bridge  over  the  river. 
Throughout  the  Anglian  and  Danish  districts  generally  we 
find  the  term  caster,  as  at  Doncaster,  Lancaster  and  Caistor. 
As  we  pass  from  East  Anglia  to  Mercia,  which,  though 
mainly  Anglian,  was  subject  to  a  certain  amount  of  Saxon 
influence,  we  find  the  word  becoming  cester,  which  is  inter- 
mediate between  the  Saxon  Chester  and  the  Anglian  caster. 
The  e  is  retained,  but  the  //  is  omitted,  and  there  is  a  strong 
tendency  to  further  elision,  as  in  the  cases  of  Alcester, 
Worcester  and  Gloucester.  Beyond  the  Tees,  where  the 
Danish  and  Mercian  influence  ceases,  we  find  the  Saxon  form 
Chester  again  in  use,  as  in  Lanchester  and  Chester-le-Street. 
Towards  the  Welsh  frontier  the  c  or  ch  becomes  an  x^ 
and  the  tendency  to  elision  becomes  very  great,  as  atWroxeter, 
and  Exeter,  really  (and  in  Camden's  time  actually)  Execester. 


TRACES   OF    PAST   RACES   OF   BRITAIN       2ig 

These  names  on  the  Welsh  frontiers  exhibit  a  gradual 
approximation  to  the  form  which  exists  where  the  Brythonic 
speech  survived.  Here  the  /  also  disappears  and  we  get 
the  word  caer  as  in  Caer  Caradoc,  Caerleon  and  Caernarvon. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  Danish  contribution  to  place 
names  is  the  sufifix  by.  By  or  byr  originally  denoted  ■  a 
single  dwelling,  or  a  single  farm,  and  we  have  it  still  in 
Scotland  as  the  name  of  a  cow-stall.  By  degrees,  like  the 
suffixes  ton  and  ham,  it  came  to  have  a  larger  meaning  and 
denoted  a  village.  Instances  of  this  occur  in  the  words 
Grimsby,  Whitby,  Derby  and  Ashby,  and  a  group  of  such 
names  testifies  to  the  strong  Danish  influence  which  formerly 
prevailed  in  the  Wirral  peninsula.  Lastly,  a  few  of  the 
Norman  names  may  be  mentioned,  which  marked  the  in- 
fluence of  the  last  conquerors  of  England.  Such  are 
Malpas  in  Cheshire,  Beaudesert  in  the  Forest  of  Arden, 
Beaumont  in  Oxfordshire,  and  the  Abbeys  of  Beaulieu, 
Jervaulx,  Rievaulx  and  Gracedieu. 

It  is  no  part  of  the  object  of  this  book  to  deal  with  the 
influences  of  the  various  races  which  have  come  under  con- 
sideration, on  the  national  literature  and  character.  To 
attempt  any  task  of  this  kind  would  demand  an  extension 
of  its  limits  beyond  those  which  have  been  contemplated. 
But  those  who  would  wish  to  find  a  succinct  account  of  this 
part  of  the  subject  can  with  great  advantage  consult  Mr. 
Arnold's  book  on  Celtic  literature,  where  they  will  find  the 
subject  dealt  with  in  that  critic's  most  luminous  manner. 


APPENDIX   A 

LIST  OF  PLACES  IN   ENGLAND  ILLUSTRATING 
OBJECTS  DESCRIBED  IN  THE  TEXT 

This  very  imperfect  list  is  inserted  in  the  hope  that  it  may  be 
of  service  to  those  who  wish  to  study  practically  some  of  the 
objects  described  in  the  preceding  pages.  In  a  few  instances, 
of  which  mention  will  be  made,  archaeological  surveys  of 
counties  have  been  made  and  published  bj'  experts  in  the 
pages  of  A  rchceologia.  When  this  work  has  been  carried  out 
for  the  entire  country,  it  will  be  possible  to  compile  a  far  more 
complete  and  accurate  list  than  the  following.  The  atten- 
tion of  readers  may  also  be  called  to  the  lists  of  Roman 
Remains  in  England  which  will  be  found  in  the  pages  of  the 
Arcliceological  Review.  Local  archaeologists  are  requested  to 
pardon  the  errors  of  omission  and  commission  which  they 
may  find,  and  to  communicate  the  same  to  the  author,  to  be 
incorporated  in  a  second  edition,  should  such  be  called  for. 

Bedford. — Earthworks  {Brit.),  Risinghoe  Castle,  Cainhoe 
Castle,  Maiden  Bower  (Dunstable),  Titternhoe  Castle, 
Walud's  Bank  ;  Saxon  cemetery,  Sandy. 

Berkshire. — Remains  of  chambered  barrow,  Weyland's 
Smith's  Cave  (close  to  the  Icknield  Street,  and  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  many  barrows,  and  of  the  well-known 
"White  Horse  "  and  Blowing-Stone);  British  village, 
Stanlake;  Earthworks  (B;'//.),  Uffington  Castle  ;  (Rom.), 
Grimsby  Castle  (Newbury)  ;  Saxon  cemeteries,  Abing- 


222  APPENDIX 

don,  Fulford.  Museum  (containing  specimens  from 
Silchester)  at  Reading:;. 

Buckinghamshire. — Earthworks  (Brit.),  Kimble  Castle 
(Ellesborough),  Cholesbury;  Saxon  cemetery,  Dinton. 

Cambridgeshire. — Earthworks  {Roin.),  Chesterton;  (Sax.), 
Orwell,  Wilbraham ;  Dykes,  Devil's,  Balsham,  Brent 
Ditch,  Haydon  Ditch.     Museum  at  Cambridge. 

Cheshire. — Earthworks  (Brit.).  Bucton  (Stalybridge),  Kels- 
borough ;  {Sax.}),  Eddisbury ;  General  Roman  anti- 
quities, and  Museum  at  Chester. 

Cornwall. — Dolmens,  numerous,  the  best  are  :  Trevethy 
Quoit,  Zennor  do.,  Pendarves  do.,  Chun  do.,  Lanyon  do. ; 
Stone  circles  or  avenues,  The  Hurlers  (Liskeard), 
Boskednan  circle.  Nine  Maidens  (Boscawen),  Dawns 
Maen  ;  the  Crick  stone  (Lanyon)  is  a  holed,  stone ; 
Cliff  castles  with  loose  stone  ramparts,  Treryn 
Dinas  (near  the  Land's  End,  and  containing  the  Logan 
stone),  Castel-an-Dinas,  and  Chun  Castle  ;  Earthworks 
and  circular  hut -dwellings,  numerous. 

Cumberland  (For  full  list  see  Archceologia,  vol.  53,  pt.  ii. 
p.  489). — Stone  circles,  Penrith,  Castle  Rigg  (Keswick), 
Dean  Moor,  Whitbeck,  Burn  Moor ;  Pit  dwellings, 
Castle  Carrock,  Denton  ;  The  Roman  wall  and  its 
forts  ;  Saxon  moated  mounds  in  various  places,  e.g., 
Bleatarn ;  and  Earthworks  at  Egremont  Castle. 

Derbyshire. — Caves,  Poole's  Cavern  at  Bu.xton,  Robin 
Hood's,  Church  Hole,  CressweU  Crags;  Stone  circles, 
Arbor  Low,  Nine  Ladies'  circle,  Stanton  Moor,  Hob 
Hurst's  Hut,  Baslow,  Bakewell ;  Earthworks  {Brit.), 
Melandra,  Mouslow ;  Saxon  cemeteries,  Cowlon, 
Standlow. 

Devonshire.— Caves,  Kent's  Hole,  Torquay,  Brixham ; 
Stone  circles.  Grey  Wethers,  Gidleigh  (Dartmoor), 
Merivale,  do.  (also  an  avenue  and  dolmen),  Scor  Hill 
Down,  do.  (avenue),  Cas  Tor,  do.,  Spinster's  Rock 
(dolmen),  Drewsteignton  ;  Bridge  over  East  Dart,  at 
Portbridge ;  Villages  (Brit.),  Grimspound  (Dartmoor) 
and  elsewhere;  Earthworks,  Prestonbury  Castle  (Dart- 
moor), Sidbury,  and  Hcnbury  Castles  (Sidmouth). 


APPENDIX  223 

Dorsetshire. — Earthworks  (Brit.),  Maiden  Castle  (Dor- 
chester), Hod  Hill,  Badbury  Rings,  Eggardon,  Rawlsbury 
(on  Bulbarrow),  and  many  others;  Villages  {Brit.), 
Woodcuts,  Turnworth,  and  many  others ;  the  Cerne 
giant,  near  Cerne  Abbas  (possibly  Celtic  work) ;  Roman 
remains  at  Dorchester  and  Wareham  (the  latter  altered 
by  later  races) ;  Pavement,  near  Weymouth.  Museums 
at  Dorchester  and  Farnham  (General  Pitt- Rivers 
Museum). 

Durham. — Cave,  Heathery  Burn  (where  many  bronze 
implements  have  been  found),  Lanchester,  a  Roman 
station,  altars  from  which  are  in  the  Chapter  Library  at 
Durham  ;  Saxon  cemetery  at  Castle  Eden. 

Essex. — Deneholes  (remarkable  pits  in  the  earth)  are  found 
in  this  county ;  Colchester,  general  Roman  remains. 
The  Bartlow  Hills,  Roman  tumuli.  Museum  at  Saffron 
Walden. 

Gloucester. — Long  barrows  at  Uley,  Nether  Swell,  Bellas 
Knap  (Winchcombe)  ;  Earthworks,  Kemerton  Camp 
(Bredon  Hill),  and  many  others  on  Cotswolds  ;  general 
Roman  remains  at  Cirencester  (Museum) ;  Villas  at 
Woodchester,  Chedworth  (with  Museum),  and  Spoonley  ; 
Earthworks  at  Godwin's  Castle  (Painswick) ;  Saxon 
cemetery  at  Fairford ;  remarkable  Anglo-Saxon 
chapel  at  Deerhui-st. 

Hampshire.  —  Earthworks  {Brit.),  St.  Catherine's  Hill 
(Winchester),  Beacon,  and  Ladle  Hills  (Kingsclere), 
Quarley  Hill  (Grateley),  Buckland  Rings  (Lymington) 
and  elsewhere ;  general  Roman  remains  at  Por- 
chester,  Silchester  (small  Museum)  ;  Villas  at  Caris- 
brooke  and  Brading  (Isle  of  Wight)  ;  Earthwork, 
Egbury  Castle ;  Saxon  earthwork,  Hengistbury 
(Christchurch  ?) ;  Cemetery,  Chessel  Down  (Isle  of 
Wight).  (Note  :  Objects  from  Silchester  at  Reading 
Museum.) 

Hereford. — Cave,  King  Arthur's  Cave  (near  Symond's 
Yat) ;  Dolmen,  King  Arthur's  Seat  (Dorstone)  ;  Earth- 
works, Croft  Ambrey,  Camp  on  Herefordshire  Beacon 
(Malvern),  Wall  Hills,   Ledbury;  Roman  vallum  and 


224  APPENDIX 

ditch  at  Leintwardine,  Camp  at  Brandon  (near  same 
place),  Offa's  Dj^ke.     Museum  at  Hereford. 

Hertfordshire  (For  full  list  see  Archaologia,  vol.  53,  p.  245). 
— Earthworks  (Brit.),  Anbury  Camp  (Redbournj, 
Thesfield  ;  general  Roman  remains  at  St.  Albans ; 
Camps  at  Royston,  Thesfield,  Kilsmore  Bank,  Cheshunt ; 
Cemetery  at  Littlington  (Royston)  ;  The  Grimsdyke. 

Huntingdonshire. — Roman  camps  at  Alwalton,  Earith, 
and  Chesterton. 

Kent  (For  full  list  see  A  rchaologia,  vol.  51,  p.  447). — Dolmen, 
Kit's  Coty  House  (Aylcsford) ;  Stone  circle  at  Adding- 
ton  ;  other  megalithic  remains  at  Aylesford,  Addington, 
and  Coldrum  ;  British  camp,  Darenth  ;  general  Roman 
remains  at  Richborough,  Dover  (Museum),  and  Lymne ; 
Cemeteries  at  Canterbury  and  Chart ;  walled  do., 
Loose;  Camps,  Roman  Codde  (Kingsdown),  Queens- 
borough  ;  numerous  Saxon  cemeteries,  of  \\  hich  that 
at  Osengal  is  the  most  celebrated. 

Lancashire. — Caves,  Grange-over-Sands,  Kirkhcad  (Cart- 
mel) ;  Stone  circle,  Lowick ;  Roman  camp,  Dalton ; 
Moated  mound,  Aldington.  For  list  of  objects  in 
northern  part  of  county  see  Archceologia,  vol.  53,  p.  531. 

Leicestershire. — Stone  Circle  and  Barrows,  near  High 
Tor,  Charnwood  Forest ;  Roman  wall,  at  Leicester 
(Museum  in  same  town) ;  Saxon  cemeteries  at  Ingarsby 
and  Bellerden. 

Lincolnshire. — Roman  gate  and  general  antiquities  at 
Lincoln  (Museum). 

Middlesex. — The  reader  will  scarcely  require  to  be  reminded 
of  the  collections  in  the  British  Museum.  Indications  as 
to  the  position  of  the  Roman  remains  in  London  will  be 
found  in  the  guides  to  that  city. 

Monmouthshire. — General  Roman  remains  and  amphi- 
theatre, at  Caerleon-on-Usk  (Museum). 

Norfolk. — Pit  dwellings,  between  Sherringham  and  Wey- 
bourne ;  Lake  dwellings,  Wretham,  near  Thetford  ; 
Roman  earthworks,  Castle  Acre  (Caistor),  Burgh 
Castle,  and  others.     Museum  at  Norwich. 

Northamptonshire.— Earthworks    (Brit.),     Castle     Dykes 


APPENDIX  225 

(Farthingtoii),  Hunsborough,  Dane's  Camp  (Harding- 
stone)  ;  Roman,  Borough  Hill,  Irchester,  Burg  Hill 
(Towcester),  afterwards  used  by  the  Saxons,  Castor. 
Museum  at  Northampton. 

Northumberland. — Cromlech  at  Lordingshaws ;  Earth- 
works {Brit.),  Old  Rothbury  camp,  Bywell,  do.,  Chester 
Hill,  do.  (Belfoi-d),  Easington,  and  Spindleston  (the  last 
three  all  afterwards  modified  by  Romans) ;  the  Romian 
wall,  forts,  and  earthworks;  Roman  remains  at 
Newcastle-on-Tyne  (Museum) ;  remains  at  Hexham 
Church ;  Piers  of  Roman  bridge  over  Tyne,  near 
Belfield.     Museum  at  Alnwick  Castle. 

Nottinghamshire. — Camp  in  Sherwood  Forest. 

Oxfordshire. — Stone  circle,  Rollright ;  also  dolmen,  and 
at  Enstone  (Hoarstone)  ;  the  Devil's  Quoits  at  Stanton 
Harcourt ;  remains  of  a  Roman  villa  at  Northlegh. 

Rutland. — Roman  camp  at  Great  Chesterton, 

Shropshire. — Stone  circles,  Marshpool,  Mitchell's  Fold  ; 
and  a  third,  near  Stapeley  Hill ;  Menhir,  near  Clun,  and 
on  Clee  Hill  ;  Earthworks  {Brit.),  Caer  Caradoc, 
Stretton,  and  do.  Knighton,  Bodbury,  Bury  Ditches,  &c. 
{Rom.  ?),  Norton  Camp,  Craven  Arms,  Nordy  Bank 
(Clee) ;  remains  of  Roman  city  of  Uriconium ; 
Mines  at  Llanymynech  and  Snead.  Museum  at  Shrews- 
bury. 

Som£rsetshire. — Caves  at  Wookey,  Burrington  and  Cheddar 
(at  Gough's  Cave,  Cheddar,  is  an  interesting  collection  of 
objects,  of  Stone,  Bronze,  and  Romano- British  periods, 
which  have  been  found  during  excavations) ;  Stone 
circle,  Stanton  Drew;  Chambered  barrow,  Wellow 
(Stoney  Littleton)  ;  Hut  circles,  Brent  Knoll,  Worle 
Hill,  Dolebury  ;  Lake  village,  Meare,  near  Glastonbury  ; 
Camps,  Dunster,  Cadbury  (Clevedon),  Maesbury,  Ham- 
don.  Castle  Neroche,  Dolebury,  Worlebury,  and  others; 
Bridge  over  Barle,  Tarr  Steps,  near  Winsford ;  general 
Roman  remains  at  Bath,  including  Roman  bath, 
Museum ;  Roman  camp,  near  Dunster,  Masbury  and 
Hamdon  camps  were  altered  by  the  Romans;  Villa  at 
Wellow;    Roman     amphitheatre,     Charterhouse-on- 

p 


226  APPENDIX 

Mendip.     Museums   at   Taunton    and   Glastonbury  (the 
latter    containing   an    interesting   collection    of    objects 
from  the  lake  village  at  Meare). 
Staffordshire.  —  Thor's     cave,    near     Ashbourne;     Pit 
dwellings,    \\'etton,   Cauldron,    Alstonefield,    Stourton, 
Ham ;    Earthworks  at   Knave's  Castle,  near   Lichfield, 
and  elsewhere  ;  Saxon  low,  near  Tittensor. 
Suffolk. — Flint  quarries.  Grimes  Graves,  Brandon  ;  Lake 
dwellings,  Barton  Mere  (Bury  St.  Edmunds)  ;  Roman 
tumuli,  Eastlow  Hills  (Rougham). 
Surrey. — Earthworks  {Brit.),  Cardinal's  Cap  (White  Hill, 

near  Catcrhanil ;  Cssar's  Camp,  Wimbledon. 
Sussex.— Earthworks    and    flint  mines,    Cissbury    (near 
Worthing) ;  Roman  villa,   Bignor ;  Saxon  cemetery. 
High  Down. 
Warwickshire.— Kingstone,  Menhir,  at  Rollright ;  Camp, 
The  Mount,  near  Shirley;  Earthworks  (Rom.?),   Har- 
borough  Banks,  Oldbury,  near  Mancetter  (Manduessedum, 
where  Roman  relies  and  a  pottery  station  have  been 
found). 
Westmoreland    (For     full     list     see    Archaologia,   vol.    53, 
p.    521). — Stone    circles,    Shap,    Crosby    Ravenhurst, 
Ravenstonedale ;    Earthworks,    Ashby    Scar ;    camp, 
tumulus,  and  village,  Harbynrigg  ;  {Rom.),  Ambleside, 
Maiden  Castle,  on  Stainmore  ;  {Sax.),  Kendal  Castle. 
Wiltshire. — Long  barrows,  Lugbury  (and  dolmen),  W^est 
Kennett,  the  King  Barrow,  near  Boreham  ;  Dolmen,  the 
Devil's  Den,  Clatford  Bottom,  near  Marlborough  ;  Hut 
circles,    Fisherton,   and    elsewhere ;    megalithic    re- 
mains, Stonehenge  (near  which  are  very  many  barrows 
and  earthworks),  Avebury  (Silbury  Hill  and  barrows 
in   neighbourhood) ;  Earthworks,  very  numerous,   e.g. 
{Bi'il.),  Barbury,  Chisenbury,  Varnbury,  Scratchbury,  and 
Battlcbury  camps ;  (Rom.),  Old  Sarum,  Knookc,  Round- 
way  Castles,    Mildenhall    (Cunetio) ;    The  Wansdyke ; 
remarkable  Anglo-Saxon  church  at  Bradford-on-Avon. 
Museums  at  Devizes  and  Salisbury  (the  latter  containing 
a  magnificent  collection  of  pre-historic  objects). 
Worcestekshire. — Earthworks    (Brit.),  Cadbury    Banks, 


APPENDIX  227 

Woodbury  (?),  Wall  Hill  (Thornbury) ;  (Rom.),  Kempsey. 
Museum,  Worcester. 

Yorkshire. — Victoria  cave,  near  Settle,  and  others  in  neigh- 
hood,  Craven,  Kirkdale ;  megalithic  remains,  the 
Devil's  Arrows,  near  Boroughbridgc  ;  Menhir,  the  Rud- 
stone,  near  Bridlington ;  Pit  dwellings,  Danby  Moor, 
Egton  Grange,  Killing  Pits  (near  Gothland),  Harwood 
Dale,  Ingleborough ;  circular  earthworks,  numerous, 
e.g.,  Blois  Hall,  Thornborough,  Almonbury,  near  Hudders- 
field;  General  Roman  remains,  including  the  mul- 
tangular tower  and  wall  at  York ;  also  Roman 
remains  at  Tadcaster  and  Aldborough.  Museums, 
York,  Leeds,  Scarborough,  Whitby. 

Wales,  N. — Caves,  Perthi  Chwareu  (Denbighshire),  Cefn, 
near  St,  Asaph ;  Stone  circle,  Penmaenmawr  ;  Dol- 
mens, twenty-eight  in  Anglesea,  of  which  the  best  are, 
Plas  Newydd,  Bryn  Celliden,  and  Bodowyr;  Cairn  or 
carnedd  in  district  of  Llyfni,  near  Clynnog ;  many 
earthworks,  e.g.,  Moel-y-Caer  (Fhnt),  Caer  Gybi,  Port- 
hamel,  Bwedd  Arthur  (Anglesey). 

Wales,  S. — Caves,  Long  Hole  (Glamorgan),  Paviland  (do.), 
Hoyle  (Tenby,  Pemb.) ;  Dolmens,  Pentre  Ifan  (Pem- 
broke), Arthur's  Quoit  (Gower,  Glamorgan)  ;  numerous 
menhirion  and  many  camps,  e.g.,  Ludbrook  (Chep- 
stow) ;  Roman  amphitheatre,  &c.,  Caerleon ;  camp 
at  Penlan,  near  St.  David's. 

Isle  OF  Man. — Long  barrow  at  Ballaglass;  Stone  circle 
near  Corra,  in  Maughold  ;  Pit  dwellings,  Cronk  Airey ; 
circular  huts  of  stone,  Glen  Darragh,  Mount  Murray. 


APPENDIX    B 

LIST  OF  BOOKS  WHICH  MAY  BE  CONSULTED 
IN  CONNECTION  WITH  THE  SUBJECTS 
DEALT  WITH  IN  THE  PRECEDING  PAGES 

Dealing  chiefly  with  the  Stone  Period  : — 

1.  "  Cave  Hunting."     By  Prof.  Boyd-Dawkins.     Macinillan 

&  Co. 

2.  "  Early  Man  in  Britain."     Same  author  and  publisher. 

3.  "  Prehistoric  Times."     By  Sir  John  Lubbock.     WilUams 

&  Norgate. 

4.  "Ancient    Stone    Implements."     By   Sir  John    Evans. 

Longmans. 

5.  "  Man  before  Metals."     By  N,  Joly.     Kegaii  Paul. 

6.  "  British  Barrows."     By  Canon  Greenwell. 

7.  "  Flint  Chips."     By  E.  T.  Steevens.     Bell  &  Daldy. 

8.  "Grave-Mounds  and   their   Contents."     By   H.  Jewitt. 

Groombridge  &  Sons. 

Dealing  chiefly  with  the  Bronze  Period: — 
The  works  of  Dawkius  and  Lubbock  as  above. 

1.  •'  Ancient  Bronze  Lnplcments."      By  Sir  John  Evans. 

Longmans. 

2.  "Ancient     Scottish      Lake      Dwellings."      By     Munro. 

Douglas. 

3.  "  Lake  Dwellings."     By  Keller. 

4.  "  Celtic  Britain."     By  Prof.  Rhys.     S.P.C.K. 

5.  ••  Stonehenge   and    its    Earthworks."       E.    Harlby.      D. 

Nutt. 


APPENDIX  229 

Dealing  chiefly  with  the  Roman  Period  : — 

1.  "  Roman  Britain."     By  Preb.  Scarth.     S.P.C.K. 

2.  "  Roman  Remains."     Ed-  by  L.   Gomme.     Gentleman's 

Magazine  Library. 

3.  "  Romano-British  Mosaic  Pavements."     By  T.  Morgan. 

Whiting. 

4.  "Cirencester,"     By  Buckman  and  Newmarch. 

5.  "  Uriconium.''     By  Corbet  Anderson.     J.  Rnssell  Smitli. 

6.  "Roman,  Celt,  and  Saxon."     By  T.  Wright.     A.  Hall. 

Dealing  chiefly  with  the  Saxon  Period: — 

1.  Wright.     As  above. 

2.  "The    Making   of  England."     By   J.    R.   Green.     Mac- 

millan. 

3.  "  Anglo-Saxon  Britain."     By  G.  Allen.     S.P.C.K. 

General  : — 

1.  "Origins  of  English  History."  By  C.J.  Elton.  Qnaritch. 

2.  "The  Village  Commnnity."     By  E.  Seebohm. 

3.  "  The  Tribal  Community."  Same  author  and  publisher. 

4.  "  The  Village  Community."    By  L.  Gomme.     W.Scott. 

5.  "  Ethnology  in  Folklore."    By  the  same  author.    Kegan 

Paul. 

6.  "  The  Origin  of  the  Aryans."     By  Canon  Taylor.     W. 

Scott. 

7.  "  Names  of  Places."     Bj'  the  same  author. 

8.  "The  Races  of  Britain."  By  Dr.  Beddoes.  Arrowsmith. 
g.  "  English  Archaeologists'  Handbook.     By  H.    Godwin. 

Parker. 

10.  "Archaeological    Index."     By   J.    Y.    Akerman.     J.    R. 

Smith. 

11.  "Pagan     Ireland."       By     Wood-Martin.      Longmans. 

(Gives  a  good  account  of  corresponding  times  in  the 
neighbouring  island.) 


GENERAL    INDEX 


Abyss,  outcry  over  the,  189 

Adamnan,  64 

Adelphius,  Bishop,  172 

^^dhan,  King  of  Dalriada,  17 

^Ifric,  Dialogues  of,  200 

^Ue,  12 

^thelfrith.  King,  16,  17 

j^thelthryth,  St.,  15 

Afon  (water),  216 

Alban,  St.,  171 

Albiona,  64 

Albion,  64 

Alfred,  King,  18,  184,  196 

Alltuds  (aliens),  189 

Altars,  Roman,  150 

Altar-stone  at  Stonehenge,  100 

Amphitheatres,   Roman,    129,    136, 

139.  140 

Amulets,  stone,  44  ;  bone,  60 

Angles,  12 

Anglo-Saxon  villages,  177  ;  inter- 
ments, 179;  swords,  179,  181; 
cemeteries,  180 ;  spears,  181  ; 
shields,  181;  mail,  182;  orna- 
ments, 182 ;  glass,  183  ;  manu- 
scripts, 184  ;  religion,  184  ; 
churches,  184 

Antoninus,  Itineraries  of,  123 

"  Any-man's  land,"  201 

Apodyterium,  148,  150 

"Arabian  Nights,"  the,  116 

"  Arch-Druid's  Barrow,"  108 

Architecture,  Anglo-Saxon,  186 

Ard-Ri  of  Ireland,  the,  190 

Aries,  Synod  of,  172 

Arnold,  Mr.  M.,  219 

Art  of  cave-dwellers,  28  ;  of  Neo- 
lithic period,  48  ;  of  Bronze 
period,  90  ;  Anglo-Saxon,  184 

Arrow-heads,  stone,  42 ;  late  use  of, 
80 ;  bronze,  80 

Arthur  or  Artorius,  King,  16,  63, 
170 

Aryan  languages,  9 


Aryans,  characteristics  of  undivided 
race,  68  ;  and  non-Aryan  races, 
114 

Ash-sap  given  to  child,  69 

Auguratorium,  the,  127 

Augustine,  St. ,  Blossom  Gatherings 
from,  196 

Aurelius  Ambrosius,  102,  170 

Awls,  flint,  22  ;  bone,  28 

Axes,  rough  stone,  construction  of, 
23  ;  neolithic,  38  ;  how  polished 
and  handled,  40;  perforated,  42  ; 
bronze,  80  ;  how  handled,  83 

Baby's  bottle,  Roman,  147 

Badagas,  115 

Barrows,   long   or  chambered,  49  ; 

'' arch-druid's,"  108;  round,  in; 

legend  about,  113;  Saxon,  179 
Base-court,  175 

Basilica,  Roman,  131,  134,  143 
Basques,  9,  64 
Baths,  public  Roman,  148  ;  private, 

162 
Bay-window,  194 
Beads,  of  fossil  shells,  24  ;  of  glass. 

77 

Bear,  36,  120 

Bearw  (barrow),  179 

Beaver,  36,  120 

Beddoes,  Dr.,  210,  211,  213,  214 

Bade,  the  Venerable,  13 

Beer,  British,  71 

Ben  (a  mountain),  216 

Beorm,  178 

Beowulf,  179,  180,  181 

Bergyon,  64 

Bishop  of  Durham,  his  hunting- 
lodge,  190 

Black-haired  races  in  Great  Britain, 
210,  211 

Blossom  Gatherings  from  St.  Augus- 
tine, 196 

Boann  (Goddess  of  Boyne),  114 


2^2 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Boar,  wild,  36,  120;  sacred,  182 

Boats  of  Neolithic  period,  36 

Boc-land,  196 

Boldon  book,  the,  190 

Bona  dea,  116 

Boniface,  St.,  56 

Boon-work,  197 

Bordarii,  198 

Borough,  217 

Borough-English,  3 

Boudicca  (Boadicea),  117 

Bovate,  202 

Brachycephaly  (round-headedness), 
116 

Brenhin  of  Wales,  190 

Breton  tongue,  70 

Brezonec,  70 

Bridal  veil,  4 

Bridges,  Celtic,  95 

Brigbote,  195 

British  trackways,  121 

Britons,  10,  70;  flight  before 
Saxons,  13 

Brittones,  69 

Broca,  Professor,  60 

Brocmael,  Prince  of  Powys,  16 

Bronze,  69,  80;  arrow-heads,  80; 
celts,  80;  how  handled,  83;  im- 
plements, 84  ;  swords,  88  ;  spear- 
heads, 88  ;  pins,  86  ;  cauldrons, 
89 ;  methods  of  casting,  89 ; 
aiticles  of  Roman  period,  145 

Brooches,  Anglo-Saxon,  182 

Bruce,  Dr.  Collingwood,  166 

Brythoneg,  70 

Brythonic,  race,  lo,  69;  meaning  of 
word,  70;  place-names,  216 

Ruckles,  Anglo-Saxons,  182 

Buckman.  Professor,  158 

Buhr,  Anglo-Saxon,  173,  177,  217 

Buhr-bote,  195 

Bulb  of  percussion,  23 

Bulleid,  Mr.  A.,  76 

P.urial-places,  Neolithic,  49;  position 
of  dead  in,  57 ;  other  objects 
foundin,59;  Bronze, m;  Roman, 
124,  164;  Anglo-Saxon,  180 

By  or  Byr{a  cow-stall),  219 

C.KSAR,  Julius,  116 

Camden,  120 

Campbell's  "  West  Highland  Tales," 
210 

Camps  of  Bronze  period,  93;  Ro- 
man, 94,  125,  126 

Camulus,  113 

Canoes  in  lake  village,  177 

Canute,  King    125 


Caratacos  (Caractacus),  95 

Carausius,  169 

Carpentry  of  lake-villagers,  78 

Carucate,  201,  202 

Casting  of  bronze,  methods  of,  89 

Castra  (a  camp)  exploratoria,  &c. , 
126  ;  corruptions  of  word,  218 

Cauldrons,  bronze,  89 

Cavalry  barracks,  Roman,  131 

Cave-dwellers,  7;  bodily  remains  of, 
31 ;  social  life,  33 

Ceawlin,  King  of  the  West  Saxons, 
16,  18,  173 

Ceffyl  (a  horse),  use  of  term,  209 

Celtic  worship  of  the  oak,  104 ; 
funeral  customs,  112;  religion,  113 ; 
suffixes  and  prefi.xes,  173;  blood 
predominant  in  the  West  of  Eng- 
land, 212  ;  generally  throughout 
England,  215 

Celts,  the  people,  9 

Cemeteries,  Roman,  124,  164; 
Anglo-Saxon,  180 

Centvvine,  King,  172 

Ceolric,  18,  213 

Chambered  barrow,  49 

Charon,  coin  for,  164 

C  hatelaines,  Anglo-Saxon,  182 

Chieftainship  of  tribe,  189 

Children's  games,  3 

Chisels,  bone,  47 

Christ,  monogram  of,  in  Roman 
villa,  162 

Christening  feasts,  ceremonies  at, 
68 

Christian  churches  in  Roman  cities, 
129,  132 

Churches,  Christian,  Roman,  T29, 
132  ;  Anglo-Saxon,  184;  Norman, 
191 

Cinders,  trampling  the,  68 

Cinque  Forts,  the  Warden  of,  12 

Circe  (a  church),  217 

Circles,  stone,  54,  96 

Cities,  Roman,  127 

Civilisation,  Roman,  t68  :  Anglo- 
Saxon,  186 

Clarke.  Mr.  G.  T.,  174 

Claudius,  10 

Climate  of  England  in  Neolithic 
period,  36 ;  British,  71;  Roman, 
119 

Clothing  of  Bronze  p>eriod,  90 ;  suit 
found  in  Jutland,  91 

"  Cloutie's  croft,"  201 

Co-aration  of  the  waste,  202 

Coffins,  Roman,  166 

Cold-harbours,  15 


GENERAL   INDEX 


233 


Columba,  St.,  17,  62,  64 

Combs,  weaving,  48 

Comes  Litoris  Saxonici,  12 

Commonwealth,  the  Secret,  44 

Comus,  114 

Conmael,  King,  16 

Coote,  Mr.,  170 

Copper-mines,  Roman,  163 

Cores,  flint,  23 

Cormac,  King  of  Cashel,  64 

Cornish  tongue,  the  ancient,  10,  70 

Cotarii,  198 

Crannogs,  71  ;  Irish  late  use  of,  72 ; 
Scotch  do. ,  73 ;  St.  Margaret's, 
73;  Wilde,  Sir  W.,  on,  73;  Mr. 
Wakeman  on,  74  ;  Dr.  Munroon, 

74 
Cranz  on  Greenland  burials,  58 
Cremation,  in,  164,  180 
Crofters,  205 
Cruithneach,  10 
Cryptoporticus,  155 
Cultivation  in  open  fields,  200 
Curia,  the,  143 

Curmi  (cuirm,  cwrw  =  beer),  71 
Customs,  funeral,  112 
Cwm  (a  coombe  or  valley),  217 

Danes,  the,  18 

Danish  influence'on  English  race,  212 

Dawkins,  Professor  Boyd,  8,  13,  25, 
31,  36,  65,  113 

Decumana  porta,  127 

Deities,  tutelary,  of  Neolithic  race, 
61 

Deneholes,  223 

Destruction  of  ancient  buildings,  135 

Dinas  (a  hill-fortress),  217 

Diodorus  Siculus  on  British  dwell- 
ings, 71 

Dion  Cassius  on  Boudicca,  117 

Distribution  of  land  by  lot,  203,  205 

Disused  bits  of  land,  201 

Dobuni,  65 

Dogs  of  Neolithic  people,  66 

Dolichocephaly  (narrow-headed- 
ness),  65,  116 

Dolmen,  49 

'•  Druidical  altars,"  49 

Druidism,  61,  62,  114 

"  Dug-out  "  boats,  36 

Dun  (a  hill-fortress),  217 

Durham,  the  Bishop  of,  his  hunting 
lodge,  190 

Dykes,  Anglo-Saxon,  178 

Eagle,  Roman  legionary,  131 
Ealdhelm,  St.,  144 


Earrings,  87 

Easter  dues,  197 

Eborius,  Bishop,  172 

Ecgberht,  King,  17 

Elf-shots,  44 

Elton,  Mr.  C.  J.,  3,  61,  128,  210 

Enclosure  Acts,  204 

Erw  (an  acre),  202 

Eskimo,     relation     to    paLtolithic 

man,  31 
Euskarians,  9 

Evans,  Mr.  A.,  54,  96,  102,  109 
Evans,  Sir  John,  22,  23,  38,  57,  82, 

85,  86,  89 

Fairies,  184  ;  and  mounds,  56,  113 
Fairy  darts,  44;  know,  113 
Farinmael,  King,  16 
Fauna  of  England,  palosolithic,  19 ; 

neolithic,  36;    of  Roman  period, 

120 
Female  rites,  British,  115 
Fibulce  or  brooches,  182 
Figures  of  men  and  animals  found 

in  caves,  28,  29 
Finger-rings,  87 
Flaking  of  flints  by  pressure,  24 
Flint      implements,      rough,      20; 

method   of  construction   of,    22 : 

use  in  religious  ceremonies,    46 ; 

manufactories  of,  46 ;  saws,  66 
Flue-tiles,  156,  160 
Folk-lore   in   general,    5 ;    of  stone 

weapons,    44 ;    of    the   Rollright 

stones,  108;  of  menhirion,  in 
Folk-moot,  198 
Forests  of  Britain,  119 
Forum,  the  Roman,  130,  141 
Fosse,  92 

Funeral  customs,  Celtic,  112 
"  Furrow-long,"  the,  200 
Fyrd,  195 

Gadhelic  race,  10;   place-names, 

210 
Gaelic-speaking  people,  10 
Gafol,  197 

Games,  children's,  3 
Gamme,  the,  of  the  Lapps,  55 
Gargantua,  114 
Garson,  Dr.,  32,  33,  65 
Gate  of  Roman  city,  140 
Gavelkind,  3 
Geography  of  England,  palaeolithic, 

17 ;  neolithic,  35 
Giants'  Dance,  the,  102 
Gildas,  13 
Giraldus  Cambrensis,  102 


234 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Glacial  period,  5 

Godiva's  ride,  explanation  of  story, 

115  ;  the  black  Godiva,  116 
Goemagog,  114 
Gogmagog,  114 
Goidels,  10,  69 
Gomme,  Mr.  G.  L.,  3,  45,  63,  iii, 

114,  139,  168,  191,  203,  205,  206 
Gomme,  Mrs.,  4 
Gould,  Baring-,  192 
Graves,  Roman,  164  ;  Anglo-Saxon, 

179 
Gray's  Inn  flint,  20 
Green  Gravel,  song  of,  4 
Green,  Mr.  J.  R. ,  13,  125,  131,  172, 

173,  178,  192,  199 
Green  well,  Canon,  47 
Grey  Wethers,  98 
Grinding-stones  for  axes,  39 
"  Guidman's  Field,"  the,  200 
Guest,  Dr.,  16 

Had  DON,  Prof.,  212 

Hair,  British  method  of  wearing,  92 

Haliraote,  197 

Hall,  the,  192 

Hall  of  Merchants,  the,  143 

Ham,  the,  196 

Hardy,  Mr.  Thomas,  217 

Harpoons,  bone,  28 

Hearth-penny,  197 

Hecatasus,  102 

Hengist,  12 

Henslow,  Prof.,  165 

Hercules,  the  labours  of,  64,  141 

Herodotus,  on  the  Poeonians,  79 

Hickes,  Dr.,  44 

Hide  of  land,  the,  201 

Hoarstone,  the,  no 

Hlaw,  179 

Hope,  .Nir.  St.  John,  151 

Horsa.  12 

House,  the  primitive,  190,  iqi 

Hughes,  Prof.  M'K.,  178 

Human  sacrifices,  6i 

Hunting   lodge   of   the    Bishop   of 

Durham,  190 
Hut  circles,  37 
Hwiccas,  18 
Huxley,     I'lof.,    on    Ethnology    of 

Britain,  208 
Hyginus,  126 
Hyperboreans,  102 
Hypocaust,  134,  156;  skeletons  in, 

134 

lARN,  or  iron  language,  64 
Iberians,  9,  65 


Ida,  King,  12,  215 
Illuminations,  Anglo-Saxon,  184 
Imirean,  206 

Implements  of  savage  races,  7 
Ine,  King,  17,  173 
Interments,    Roman,    164 ;    Anglo- 
Saxon,  179 
lomirean,  206 
Irish  Elk,  the,  36 
Iron  works,  Roman,  163 
Itineraries  of  Antoninus,  123 
Ivernians,  9,  64 

Joyce,  Mr.,  141 
Julius  Cassar,  10 
Junior  right,  3 
Jutes,  12 

Jutic    influence    on    British    races, 
215 

Keeps,  Norman  rectangular,  176 ; 

shell,  177 
Kelly,  Mr.,  69 
"  Kenilworth,"  SirW.  Scott's  novel, 

52 
Khasis  of  Bengal,  the,  106 
Kill  (a  church),  217 
Kin,  the,  187 
Kin-wrecked  man,  188 
King's  men,  the,  107 
King's  peace,  the,  122 
Kingstone,  the,  108,  no 
Kirk  (a  church).  217 
Kirk,  the  Rev.  R.,  44 
Kirk-scot,  197 
Kiss  in  the  ring,  3 
Knight's  fee,  a,  201 
Kurumbas,  the,  114 
Kyndylan,  King,  16,  21 
Kyning,  70 

Labours  of  Hercules,  64 

Labrum,  i  S2 

Lachrymatories,  166 

Laen-land,  196 

Lake-dwellings,  71 

Lamps,  stone,  47  ;   Roman,  166 

Lancet,  surgical,  147 

Land,  distribution   of   by  lot,  203, 

205 
Lang,  Mr.  A.,  57 
Lapp  Gamme,  the,  55 
Lapps,  the,  114 
Laver,  152 
Lead,  pigs  of,  163 
Leaden  objects  in  lake  villages,  78 
Legal  methods  as  survivals,  2 
Legions,  Roman,  154 


GENERAL   INDEX 


235 


Lightfoot,  Mr.,  69 
Llan  (a.  church),  217 
Long  barrows,  49 
Lord  of  the  manor,  195 
Lucan,  61,  117 
Lynchets,  95 

Mail,  Anglo-Saxon  coats  of,  182 

Manor-house,   development  of  the, 
192 

Manorial  court,  197 

Manor,  the  lord  of  the,  195 

Manor    of    Westminster,    its    con- 
stituent parts,  203 

Manors  belonging  to  abbeys,  196 

Mansiones,  124 

Manufacture    of   flint   implements, 
22,  46 

Manuscripts,  Anglo-Saxon,  184 

Mass,  the,  151 

Maximius  Tyrius,  104 

McEnery,  the  Rev.  J.,  25 

Mead,  71 

Menhir  (PI.  Menhirion),  no;  folk- 
lore of  menhirion,  in 

Merchants,  Hall  of,  143 

Merlin,  102 

Metempsychosis,    62  ;     relics    of 
beliefs  in,  63 

Metheglin,  71 

Middleton,  Prof.,  160 

Milestones,  Roman,  124 

Milliaria  (milestones),  124 

Milton's  "  Comus,"  114 

Mines,  Roman,  163 

Morgan,  Mr. ,  158 

Morlot,  Mons.,  40 

"  Mota,"  the,  174 

Mounds,  Anglo-Saxon,  174 

Munro,  Dr.,  74 

Neanderthal  skull,  31 

Necklaces,  92 

Neck  rests,  92 

Needle  bone,  28 

Neolithic    race,    8 ;     definition     of 

term,    19  ;  bodily  characteristics, 

65 ;  social  life,  66 
Newmarch,  Mr.,  158 
Nilsson,    on    Swedish     interments, 

58 
Nodens,  113 
"  No  man's  land,"  201 
Norman  use  of  Saxon  mounds,  176  ; 

keeps,  176,  177 
Norse  influence  on  population,  212 
Novercae,  126 
Numerals,  Welsh,  209 


Oak,  Celtic  worship  of,  104 

Oculist's  stamps,  147 

Offa,  King  of  Mercia,  17 

Open-field  culture,  200 

Ornaments,  personal,  of  cave- 
dwellers,  34 ;  neolithic,  69 ; 
British,  92 

Orpheus,  158 

Ostorius  Scapula,  135 

Outcry  over  the  abyss,  189 

Ox,  the  wild,  36,  120 

Oxenham  family,  the,  63 

Ox-team,  the  full,  201 

PALiEOLiTHiC  race,  7,19  ;  definition 

of,  19  ;  implements,  20 
Parsonage  at  Little  Hempston,  the, 

193 
Patrick,  St.,  his  hymn,  62 
Pavements,  Roman  tesselated,  136, 

157.  163 
Pen  (a  mountain),  216 
Pengelly,  Mr.,  25,  26 
Pennant,  68 
Pepys,  Samuel,  44 
Perforated  axe-heads,  42 
Physical    characteristics    of     cave- 
dwellers,   31  ;    of  neolithic  race, 

65  ;  of  Celts,  116 
Pickaxes,  horn,  47 
Picts,  20 
Pilas,  156 
Pile-dwellings,  78 
Pins  of  bronze  period,  86 
Pit-dwellings,  37 
Place-names,       Brythonic,       216  ; 

Goidelic,     216;      Anglo-Saxon, 

217;   Danish,  217,  218  ;   Roman, 

218  ;  Norman,  219 
Platycnemism     (flattening    of    the 

shin  bone),  32,  33 
Pliny,  on  the  ancient  Britons,  115 
Ploughing,  Welsh  laws  as  to,  202 
Ploughman's  complaint,  the,  200 
Plough-team,  the  village,  198 
Pomcerium,  the,  139 
Pomponius  Mela,  64 
Population  of  districts  of  England, 

their  characteristics,  210-215 
Posidonius,  71 

Posting  stations,  Roman,  124 
Pottery,  neolithic,  48,  67  ;  of  bronze 

period,  90;  Roman,  145;  Samian, 

146  ;  .\nglo-Saxon,  182 
Prjefurnium,  150,  160 
Prastoria  Porta,  127 
Precariae,  197 
Pre-Celtic  races,  210 


236 


GENERAL    INDEX 


Preglacial  implements,  supposed,  6 

Primogeniture,  3 

Principalis  Porta,  127 

Prittania,  10 

Prognathism    (protrusion    of     the 

jaws),  65 
Property,  tenures  of,  2 
Pummery,  the,  139 
Pytheas,  the  voyage  of,  70 

QUARENTENA,  200 

Quatuor  Chimini,  the,  122,  123 

Rabelais,  114 

Ram  Feast,  the,  iii 

Rectitudines,  195 

Religion,  the  Celtic,  113;  Anglo- 
Saxon,  184 

Removal  of  great  stones,  method  of, 
106 

Restitutus,  Bishop,  172 

Rhyming-score,  the,  209 

Rhys,  Prof.,  10,  64,  69,  104 

Rings,  finger  and  ear,  87 

River-drift  men,  7  ;  bodily  remains, 

24 

Roads,  Roman,  how  made,  122 

Robin  Hood,  120 

Rogers,  Prof.  Thorold,  iqi 

Roland,  109 

Rollendrice,  109 

Roman  occupation,  nature  of,  11  ; 
arrival,  10;  departure,  11  ;  roads, 
122 ;  stations,  124 ;  camps,  125, 
126 ;  cities,  127  ;  shops,  130,  134, 
142,  145  ;  eagle,  131  ;  tombs,  137  ; 
amphitheatres,  129,  136,  139,  140  ; 
bronze  articles  of,  145  ;  pottery, 
T45  ;  baths,  148  ;  temples,  150  ; 
theatre,  152 ;  walls,  154,  166 ; 
legions,  154  ;  sewers,  154  ;  villas, 
155 ;  mines,  163 ;  graves,  164 ; 
civilisation,  168 

Runic  letters,  181 

Sabrina,  114 

Sacred  tree,  178,  179 

Sacrifices,  human,  61 

Samian  pottery,  146 

Sarsen  stones,  98 

Saws,  flint,  66 

Sa.xons,    12  ;    buhrs,    173 ;    sufti.xts 

and  prefi.xes,  173 
Scrapers,  flint,  22 
Seax  (short  knife),  179,  181 
"Secret  Commonwealth,"  the,  144 
Seebohm,  Mr.,  189,  196,  204,  206 
Segontian  Hercules,  141 


Sepulchral  monuments  and  Stone- 

henge,  103 
Servus  or  slave,  198,  199 
Sewers,  Roman,  154 
Shakespeare's  Celtic  blood,  213 
Shell-keep,  Norman,  177 
Shield,  Anglo-Saxon,  179,  181 
Shops,  Roman,  130,  134,  142,  145 
Silentiary,  the,  190 
Silius  Italicus,  117 
Silures,  65 

Siluria,  the  ancient  region  of,  210 
Skene,  Mr.,  16 
Skull,  the  Neanderthal,  31 
Smith,  Captain  John,  24 
Social    life    of    cave-dwellers,    33 ; 

neolithic,  66;  British,  117 
Sodor  and  Man,  the  Bishop  of,  211 
Spear,  Anglo-Saxon,  181 
Spear-heads,  bronze,  83 
Sphreristerium,  148 
Spindle-whorls,  48 
Stations,  Roman,  124 
Statuettes,  terra-cotta,  147 
Statins,  128 
Stevens,  Mr.,  no 

-Stone-circles,  54,  96;  in  Arabia,  55 
Stone-worship,  56 
Stones,  great,  method  of  removal, 

106 
Stonesfield  slates,  156 
Strabo,  61,  116 
Stukelev,  106,  107,  113,  135 
Sul,  148 

Sul-Minerva,  148,  150 
Suspensura,  156 

Swarthy  races  in  Great  Britain,  211 
.Swords,  bronze,  85 ;   .Anglo-Saxon, 

179,  181 
Syenite  stones  at  Stonehenge,  100 
Synod  of  Aries,  172 

Tacitus,  65 

Taranis,  113 

Taylor,  Canon,  216,  217,  218 

Temples,  Roman,  150 

Tesselated  pavements,  Roman,  136, 

157.  163  " 
Teutates,  113 
Thadioc,  Bishop,  172 
Theatre,  Roman,  150 
'I'heon,  Bishop,  172 
Theow  (a  thrall  or  slave),  197 
Thor,  184 
Thor's  hammer,  43 
Thothotpu,  statue  of,  its  removal, 

106 
Th.-owing-stones,  42 


GENERAL   INDEX 


'■yi 


Thunder-bo'.t,  43 

Thurnani,  Dr.,  54,  58,  ii6 

Thurneysen,  Dr.,  12 

Tingle-stone,  no 

Tin-mines,  Roman,  164 

Tomb-stones,  Roman,  137 

Ton,    the,    177,  217  ;    as  a   suffix, 

172 
Torques,  87;  Gaulish,  88;  name  of 

Torquati,  88 
Toys,  Roman,  145 
Trackways,  British,  121 
Trampling  the  cinders,  68 
Transmigration  of  souls,  6i 
Tree,  Sacred,  178,  198 
Trepanned  skulls,  59 
Triads,  the  Welsh,  189 
Tribal  communities,  187 
Tribe,  the,  187;  entrance  of  strangers 

into,  187;  relation  of  strangers  to, 

189;  chieftainship  of,  189 
Tribunal,  the,  127 
Trinoda  necessitas,  195 
Tumuli,  Roman,  165 
Tun,  the  (or  ton),  177 
Twelve  Tables,  the  laws  of  the,  164 
Tylor,  Dr.,  114 

UisGE  (water),  216 
Urus  (wild  ox),  36,  120 

Valerius  Maximus,  61 

Vallum,  92 

Veil,  the  Bridal,  4 

Villa,  the  Roman,  155 

Village,  Anglo-Saxon,  177;  forma- 


tion of,  196  ;  lands  around,  197, 
200  ;  plough-team,  198  ;  ofificials, 
198 ;  council,  198 

Village  community  of  Heisgeier,  205 

Villeins,  197  ;  duties,  197  ;  disabili- 
ties, 198 

Virgate,  201,  202 

Vitruvius,  117,  143 

Wager  of  battle,  188 

Wakeman,  Mr.,  74 

Walhouse,  Mr.,  114 

Wall,  of  a  Roman  city,  129,   132  ; 

the  Roman,  154,  166 
War-board,  the,  181 
Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  12 
Warrior's  stone,  42 
Waste,  co-aration  of  the,  202 
Water-pipes,  Roman,  160 
Watling  Street  (the  Milky  Way),  17 
Wealhas  (strangers),  17 
Weaving,  48,  67 
Week-work,  197 
Weights  for  weaving,  48 
Welsh  numerals,  209 
Whispering  Knights,  the,  107 
Wilde,  Sir  William,  jji 
William  the  Conqueror,  125 
Window-glass,  Roman,  155 
Woad,  staining  bodies  with,  116 
Woden,  182,  184 
Wolves,  36,  120 
Worship,    of  oak,    Celtic,  104 ;    of 

stones,  56 

Yakulanus,  201 


INDEX  OF  NAMES   OF   PLACES 


{Obsolete  mimes  are  printed   in  italics) 


Abbeville,  20 

Aberffraiv,  190 

Abingdon,  221 

Ablington,  no 

Abury,  104 

Acling  Street,  122 

Addington,  224 

^■f.scandutie  [see  Ashdown) 

Akeman  Street,  135 

Alauna  {see  Alcestek) 

Alcester,  123,  164,  218 

Aldborough,  227 

Aldington,  224 

Aldus  M'Galdus,  tomb  of,  42 

Almondbury,  227 

Alnwick  Castle,  225 

Alstonefield,  226 

Alwalton,  224 

Ambleside,  226 

Ambrey,  Croft,  93 

Amiens,  20 

Anderida,  Forest  of ,  120,  164 

Andredsweald,  the,  120,  164 

Angela,  13 

Anglesey,  227 

Aqua  Suits  (see  Bath) 

Arranniore,  212 

Arbor  Low,  222 

Archeafield,  214 

Arden,  Forest  of,  119,  171,  213 

Arthur's  Cave,  King,  223 

Hall,  King,  164 

Quoit,  King,  227 

Round  Table,  King,  140 

Seat,  King,  223 
Ashbourne,  226 
Ashby  Scar,  219,  226 
Ashdown  (yEsca/idunc),  121 
Ashendon,  182 
Atcham,  15,  132 
Aubury  Camp,  224 


Avebury,  104,  113,  226 
Avening,  58 
Avisford,  165 
Avon,  River,  216 
Aylesford,  50,  224 

Badbury  Rings  {Mons  Badoniciis), 

i5i  223 
Badonicus,  Mons  (see  Badbury) 
Bakewell,  223 
Ballaglass,  227 
Balsham  Ditch,  222 
Barbury,  226 
Barle  River,  96 
Bartlow  Hills,  165   223 
Barra,  210 
Barton  Mere,  226 
Barvas,  212 

Baschurch  (Bassa's  Churches),  16 
Baslow,  222 

Bassa's  Churches  (see  BAbCHURCH) 
Bath  (AqucT  Sulis),   124,   147,   148, 

150.  225 
Battlebury,  226 
Beacon  Hill,  223 
Beaudesert,  219 
Beaulieu,  219 
Beaumont,  219 
Beckhampton,  105 
Belfield,  225 
Belford,  225 
Bellas  Knap,  223 
Bellerden,  224 
Benjerlaw,  Mount,  217 
Ben  Rhydding,  216 
Berkhampstead,  174 
Revere,  121 
Beverley,  121 
Bignor,  226 
Birmingham,  119,  178 
Bishop's  Castle,  163 


INDEX   OF   NAMES   OF    PLACES 


239 


Blois  Hall,  227 

Blowing-stone,  221 

Bodbury  Ring,  225 

Bodnor,  227 

Borcovicus  [see  HousKSTEADs) 

Boreham,  226 

Boroughbridge,  227 

Borough  Hill,  225 

Boscawen,  222 

Boskednan  Circle,  222 

Bowness,  166 

Boyne,  River,  114 

Bradford-on-Avon,  184,  226 

Brading,  223 

Bramber,  175 

Brandon,  46,  224,  226 

Branoduniim  {see  Leintwardine) 

Bravinitim  {see  Leintwakuine) 

Bredon  Hill,  223 

Brent  Ditch,  222 

Brent  Knoll,  225 

Bridgeness,  153 

Bridlington,  227 

Bridport,  12 1 

Brixham,  222 

Bryn  Celliden,  227 

yr-EUyllon,  121 
Broadway,  121 
Buckland  Rings,  223 
Buckle  Street,  121 
Buckland  Camp,  222 
Bulbarrow,  223 
Burgh  Castle,  224 

Hill,  225 
Burn  Moor,  222 
Burrington,  225 
Bury  Ditches,  225 
Bury  St.  Edmunds,  226 
Buxton,  222 
Bwedd  Arthur,  227 

Cadbury  Banks,  226 

Camp,  225 
Caer  Caradcc,  95,  219,  225 

Gybi,  227 
Caerleon-on-Usk    {/sea    Silunim), 

124,   129,  140,  150,  154,  174,  218, 

219,  224 
Caernarvon,  219 
Cjesar's  Canip,  226 
Cainhoe  Castle,  221 
Caistor,  15,  218,  224 
Calcaria  {see  Tadcaster) 
Calleva       AttrebatitJit      (see      SlL- 

chester) 
Camboritum,  15,  129 
Cambridge,  222 
Camulodunuvi  {see  Colchester) 


Canterbury,  224 
Cardiff,  175 
Cardigan  Bay,  35 
Cardinal's  Cap,  226 
Carisbrooke,  223 
Carnac,  no 
Cartmel,  224 
Castel-an-Dinas,  222 
Castle  Acre,  224 

Carrock,  222 

Dykes,  224 

Eden,  223 

Neroche,  225 

Rigg,  222 
Cas  Tor,  222 
Castor,  146,  218,  225 
Caterham,  226 
Cauldron,  226 
Cefn,  37,  227 
Ceme  Abbas,  223 
Chalbury  Hill,  95 
Charlton  Abbots,  57 
Charnwood  Forest,  120,  224 
Chart,  224 

Charterhouse-on-Mendip,  225 
Cheddar,  225 
Chedworth,  161,  172,  223 
Cheltenham,  161 
Chepstow,  227 
Cheshunt  Camp,  224 
Chessel  Down  223 
Chester  {Deva),   16,  120,   129,   150, 

154,  222 
Chester  Hill,  225 
Chester-le-Street,  218 
Chesterton,  218,  222,  224 
Chichester  {Regnum),  150 
Chisenbury,  226 
Cholesbury,  222 
Christchurch,  223 
Chun,  51,  222 
Church  Hole,  222 

Stretton,  95,  121 
Cinderford,  164 
Cirencester   {Corvnum),    124,    135, 

140,  157,  158,  223 
Cissbury,  226 
Clatford  Bottom,  226 
Clee  Hill,  225 
Clevedon,  225 
Clichy,  25 
Clun,  no,  214,  225 
Clyde,  Firth  of,  168 
Clynnog,  227 
Colchester    {Camulodu}ium),     121, 

I29,   150,  217,  218,  223 
Coldrum,  224 
Comar,  the  Ford  of,  42 


240 


INDEX   OF   NAMES  OF   PLACES 


Congresbui'y,  202 

Coriniiim  [see  Cirenxester) 

Cornwall,  164 

Corra,  227 

Cotswold  Hills,  the,  135,  161,  214, 

223 
Coventry,  115 
Cowlon,  222 
Craven,  227 

Arms,  225 
Cresswell  Crags,  222 
Crick-stone,  the,  222 
Croft  Ambrey,  93,  223 
Cronk  Airey,  227 
Crosby  Ravenhurst,  226 
Cwms,  the,  121,  217 

D.^;GSTO^'E  [see  Dawstone) 

Dalton,  224 

Dalriada,  16 

Danby  Moor,  227 

Dane's  Camp,  225 

Uarent,  224 

Dartmoor,  95,  11 1,  195,  222 

Dawns  Maen,  222 

Dawstone  (Z?(Z(?§'i/c//t),  17 

Dean,  Forest  of,  120,  163,  214 

Moor,  222 
Dee,  River,  120 
Deerhurst,  223 
Denton,  222 
Deorkam  (Dyrham),  16 
Derby,  219 
Deva  [see  CHESTER) 
Devil's  Arrows,  227 

Den,  226 

Dyke,  222 

Quoits,  225 
Devizes,  175,  226 
Dimetia,  190 
Dinton,  222 
Dolebury,  225 
Dolemoors,  the,  203 
Doncaster,  218 
Dorchester  [Dnniovaria],  94,   121, 

128,  139,  223 
Dorstone,  223 
Dover,  224 

Doward's  Hill,  Great,  164 
Drewsteignton,  222 
Diinium,  94,  217 
Dunmow,  216 
Dunstable,  123,  221 
Dunster,  94,  175,  225 
Duntesbourne  Abbots,  no 
Durham,  175,  223 
Durnovaria  [see  DORCHESTEk) 
Durobrivee  (see  Castor) 


Duruthy,  Cave  of,  29 
Dyvnainf,  17 

Earith,  224 
Easington,  225 
East  Kennett,  105 
Eastlow  Hills,  226 
Eboracum  [see  York) 
Eddisbury,  222 
Edington  [Ethaiuiun),  18 
Egbury  Castle,  223 
Eggardon,  223 
Egremont  Castle,  222 
Egton  Grange,  227 
Eguisheim,  25 
EUesborough,  222 
Elmet,  Forest  of,  171 
Ely,  175 
Engleland,  13 
Enstone,  225 

Ermine  Street,  the,  123,  135 
Esk,  River,  216 
Ethandun  [see  Edington) 
Efocefum  [see  Wali.) 
Exe,  River,  216 
Exeter,  173,  218 
Exmoor,  95 

Faddiley  [Ecthanleali],  16 
Fairford,  223 
Famham,  223 
Farthington,  225 
Fenny  Stratford,  123 
Eethanleah  [see  Fauuilev) 
Fisherton,  j,-],  226 
Forth,  Firth  of,  168 
Fosse  Way,  the,  123,  135 
Frankwell,  173 
Fulford,  222 

Gatacre  Hall,  191 

Gavr  Inis,  54 

Gidleigh,  222 

Glastonbury,  77,  225,  226 

Glen  Darragh,  227 

Gkvum  [see  Gloucester) 

Gloucester  [Glcvum),  122,  128,  129, 

2l8 

Godmanchester,  218 
Godwin's  Castle,  223 
Gogmagog  Hills,  the,  114 
Gothland,  227 
Gower,  227 
Gracedieu,  219 
Graham's  Dyke,  168 
Grange-over-Sands,  224 
Grantchester,  218 
Grateley,  223 


INDEX   OF   NAMES   OF    PLACES 


241 


Gray's  Inn,  London,  20 
Great  Chesterton,  £25 
Great  Doward  Hill,  164 
Green  Road,  the,  122 
Grey  Wethers,  the,  222 
Grimes'  Graves,  46,  226 
Grimsby,  219 
Grimsby  Castle,  221 
Grimsdyke,  the,  '^24 
Grimspound,  222 
Owe  lit,  190 

Hamdon  Camp,  225 
Harborough  Banks,  226 
Harbynrigg,  226 
Hardingstone,  225 
Harwood  Dale,  227 
Haydon  Ditch,  222 
Headingham,  175 
Heathery  Burn,  223 
Hebrides,  the,  63,  205,  212 
Heisgeier,  205 
Hempston,  Little,  193 
Henbury  Castle,  222 
Hen  Dinas,  95 
Hengistbury,  223 
Hereford,  124,  224 
Herefordshire  Beacon,  95,  223 
Hexham,  225 
High  Cross,  123,  124 
High  Down,  226 
High  Tor,  224 
Hoarstone,  the,  225 
Hob  Hurst's  Hut,  22 
Hod  Hill,  223 
Holdgate,  139 
Holgate,  176 
Holne,  III 

Housesteads  (Bo?roviais),  167 
Hoyle,  227 
Huddersfield,  227 
Huntingdon,  124 
Hunsborough,  225 
Hurlers,  the,  222 

ICKLINGHAM,   122,  182 

Icknield  Street,  the,  122 
11am,  226 
Ingarsby,  182,  224 
Ingleborough,  227 
Irchester,  225 

J  sea  Siluri/m  {see  Cakrleon) 
Isle  of  Man,  56,  212,  227 
Isle  of  Wight,  223 

Jervaulx,  219 
Jewry  Wall,  the,  132 


Kelsborough,  222 
Kenierton  Camp,  223 
Kempsey,  227 
Kenchester  (Afagfia),  124 
Kendal  Castle,  222,  226 
Kennett,  East,  105 

West,  54,  58,  105,  226 
Kent's  Hole  Cave,  25,  222 
Kesserloch,  29 
Keswick,  222 
Kilkenny,  217 
Killing  Pits,  227 
Kilsmore  Bank,  224 
King  Barrow,  226 
Kingsclere,  223 
Kingsdown,  224 
King's  Scar  Cave,  13 
Kirby,  217 
Kirkdale,  227 
Kirkhead,  224 
Kirk  Oswald,  217 
Kit's  Coty  House,  50,  224 
Knave's  Castle,  226 
Knighton,  225 
Knock  Maraidhe,  58 
Knook  Castle,  226 

Ladodoruin  {see  TOWCESTER) 

Ladle  Hill,  223 

La  Madelaine,  Cave  of,  28,  33 

Lancaster,  218 

Lanchester,  218,  223 

Laugerie  Basse,  29,  33 

Lanyon,  51  ;  quoit,  222  ? 

Launceston,  175 

Leamington,  178 

Ledbury,  223 

Leeds,  171,  227 

Leicester  (A'aA^),  124,  132,  224 

Leintwardine     {Braitodunum 

Braviniuui),  124,  224 
Lewes,  175 
Lewis,  211 
Lichfield,  226 
Lilleshall,  132 
\Jmco\n{Lindum  Colonia),  124, 

140,  175,  224 
Lindum  Colonia  {see  LINCOLN) 
Liskeard,  222 
Little  Hempston,  193 
Littlington,  164,  224 
Llanymynech,  163,  224 
Lledr,  Afon,  216 
Llugwy,  Afon,  216 
Llyffni,  227 
Llyn  Ogwen,  121 
Lochmariaquer,  48 
Logan  Stone,  222 

0 


C^t 


:^ 


..Q 


129, 


^-12 


INDEX   OF    NAMES   OF    PLACES 


iMndiiiium  [see  London) 

London  (Londinium),  129   224 

Long  Compton,  108 

Long  Hole,  227 

Longmynd,  the,  123 

Loose,  224 

Lordingshaws,  225 

Lowick,  224 

Ludbrook,  227 

Ludlow,  93,  179 

Lugbury,  226 

Lydney,  121 

Lymington,  222 

Lymne,  224 

Machynlleth,  163 

Maesbury,  225 

Mitchell's  Fold,  225 

Magna  (see  Kenchestek) 

Maiden  Bower,  221 

Maiden    Castle   (Dors.),  94,  223  ; 

(Westm. ),  226 
Malpas,  219 
Malvern,  95,  223 
Mancetter  [Manduesedum),  226 
Marlborough,  226  ;  Down,  99 
Martin's    Pomeroy,    St.  ,1   London, 

139 
Marshpool,  225 
Masbury,  225 
Massat,  Cave  of  La,  29 
Maughold,  227 
Maumbury,  139 
Meare,  225,  226 
Melandra  Castle,  222 
Mendip  Hills,  the,  163,  172 
Merivale,  222 
Mildenhail,  226 
Minehead,  35 
Moel-y-Gaer,  227 
Mold,  121 
Montacute,  175 
Mortimer  Fielding,  129 
Mount,  the,  226 
Mount  Murray,  227 
Mouslow  Castle,  222 

Nant  Cribba,  175 
Nant  Francon,  121 
Neanderthal,  31 
Nes<;,  211 
Nether  Swell,  223 
Newark,  124 
Newbury,  221 
Newcastle-on-'l"yne,  225 
Newgrange,  Co.  Meath,  53 
Newton  Abbot,  27 
Xidderdalc,  6' 


Nine  Ladies'  circle,  222 

Maidens,  222 
Nordy  Bank,  225 
Northampton,  225 
North  Legh,  225 
Norton  Caiup,  225 
Norwich,  175,  224 

Offa's  dyke,  17,  178,  224 

Old  Oswestry,  95 

Old  bury,  226 

Old  Rothbury,  225 

Sarum,  94,  125,  176,  226 
"Old  Works,"  the,  132 
Orwell,  222 
Oswestry,  94  ;  old,  95 
Ouse,  River,  216 
Overton,  105 
Ozingell,  170,  224 

Painswick,  223 

Paviland,  227 

Pendarves  Quoit,  222 

Pengwyrn  [sec  Shrewsblrv) 

Penlan,  227 

Penmaenmawr,  227 

Pentre  Ifan,  227 

Penrith,  222 

Perigord,  33 

Perthi  Chwareu,  227 

Pitney,  163 

Plas  Newydd,  51,  227 

Ploy  Field,  the,  1 1 1 

Pontefract,  175 

Porchester  [Fori us  Maitgiis),  223 

Porthamel,  227 

Portbridge,  222 

Port  way,  the,  123 

Poundbury,  128 

Prestonbury  Castle,  222 

Puxton,  202 

QUARLEY  Hill,  223 
Queensborough,  224 

"  Rat/K"  [sec  Leicester) 

Ravenstonedale,  226 

Rawlsbury,  223 

Rea,  River,  120 

Reading,  129,  222,  223 

Reculver  [Kcgulbium],  21 

Redbourn,  224 

Rcgnum  [sec  CHICHESTER) 

Restormel,  175 

Richborougli   [Rntupice],   129,    147, 

224 
Ridgeway,  the,  123 
Rievaul.v,  219 


INDEX   OF    NAMES   OF   PLACES 


243 


Risinghoe  Castle,  221 
Robin  Hood's  cave,  29,  222 
Rochester,  218 
Rolliight,  107,  225,  226 
Roman  codde,  224 
Roughani,  165,  226 
Roundway  Castle,  226 
Royston,  164,  224 
Rudstone,  the,  227 
Rush  more,  38 

RutupicB  [sec  Richborough) 
Ryknield  Street,  the,  120 
Rylstone,  90 

Saffron  Walden,  223 

St.  Albans  {Verulamium),  123,  152, 

171,  224 
Catherine's  Hill,  223 
David's,  227 
Salisbury,  226 
Sandy,  221 
Sarum,  Old  (Soiijiodiaium),g^,  125, 

176,  226  .  . 

Scalehouse  Barrow,  90 
Scarborough,  227 
Scratchbury,  226 
Scor  Hill  Down,  222 
Scrobbesbyrig  [see  SHREWSBURY) 
Seaton,  124 
Senlac,  80 
Settle,  226 
Shap,  226 
Sherborne,  175 
Sherringham,  224 
Sherwood  Forest,  120,  ■a-^'c^ 
Shetland,  Islands,  211 
Shirley,  226 
Shrewsbury  (Celt.  Pengwyni ;  Sax. 

Scrobbesbyrig),  17,  134,  173,  225 
Sidbury  Castle,  222 
Sidmouth,  222 
Silbury  Hill,  105,  107,  226 
Silchester      (Calleva     Attrebatum), 

129,  140,  141,  148,   150,   152,  171, 

222,  223 
Sittingbourne,  182 
Sleaford,  180 
Snead,  163,  225 
Sneefell,  212 
Snowdonia,  120 
Sorbiodunum  [see  Old  Sarum) 
Southam,  115 
Speen,  218 
Spey,  32 

Spindleston  Camp,  225 
Spinster's  Rock,  222 
Spoonley,  223 
Stainmore,  226 


Stalybridge,  222 
Standlow,  222 
Stanlake,  221 
Stanton  Drew,  225 

Harcourt,  225 

Moor,  222 
Stapeley  Hill,  225 
Stonehenge,  96,  112,  226 
Stony  Littleton,  226 

Stratford,  123 
Stourton,  226 
Stowe  Heath,  182 
Stow-on-the-Wold,  121 
Stratford,  124 
Strathclyde,  16 
Stretford,  124 
Stretton,  124 
Sudreyjar,  212 
Symond's  yat,  223 

Tadca.STER  (Calcaria),  125,  227 

Tarra'Dy,  150 

Tarr  Steps,  95,  225 

Taunton,  17,  226 

Thesfield,  224 

Thetford,  224 

Thornborough,  227 

Thornbury,  227 

Tickhill,  175 

Tittensor,  226 

Titternhoe  Castle,  221 

Torquay,  27,  222 

Totnes,  193 

Towcester,  123,  225 

Treryn  dinas,  222 

Trevethy  quoit,  222 

Tripoli,  103 

Turnworth,  223 

Tutbury,  175 

Uffington  Castle,  221 
Uley  Barrow,  52,  58,  223 
Upchurch,  145 
Uriconium  [see  Wroxeter) 
Usk,  River,  216 

Verulamium  {see  St.  Albans) 
Victoria  Cave,  227 

Wales,  North,  16,  17 

West,  16,  17 
Wall  [Etocetum),  121,  123 
Wall   hills   (Heref.),    223,     (Wore.) 

227 
Wallingford,  17 
Wall's  End,  166 
Wanborough,  18,  213 
Wansdyke,  the,  184 


244 


INDEX    OF    NAMES   OF   PLACES 


Wareham,  128,  223 

Watchet,  172 

Watling  Street,  the,  123 

Weald,  the,  164 

Wednesbury,  184 

Week  St.  Laurence,  203 

WeUington  (Som. ),  172 

Wellow,  225 

West  Kennett,  54,  58,  105 

Westminster,  203 

Wetton,  226 

Weyland   Smith's   forge, 

221 
Weymouth,  95,  121,  223 
Whitby,  219 
Whitbeck,  222 
White  Horse,  52,  221 

Vale  of,  18,  121 
Wilbraham,  222 
Wimbledon,  226 
Winchcombe,  223 
Winchester,  218,  223 
Windsor,  175 


52,    122, 


Winsford,  96,  225 

Wirral  peninsula,  the,  219 

Wixford,  123 

Woodbury,  227 

Woodchester,  223 

Woodcuts  Common,  38 

Wood  End,  120 

Wooton  Wawen,  120 

Worcester,  128,  218,  227 

Worlebury,  225 

Worthing,  226 

Wrekin,  131 

Wretham,  224 

WroxeteT  (Uricwii/tM),  15,  124,  131, 

138,  218,  225 
Wye,  River,  163,  164 
Wyre,  Forest  of,  120 

Yarnbury,  95,  226 

Yarrow,  217 

York  (Eboracum),  125,  129,  154,  227 

Zennor  Quoit,  222 


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